ISLAMABAD: The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan this week said it strongly opposes a proposed move to transfer endangered snow leopards from northern Pakistan to Moscow in Russia, calling on the government to strengthen its rehabilitation center for the animals.
Various studies indicate that as the snow leopard is an elusive animal, hence it is difficult to record its exact population in the distribution range across Central and South Asia. However, in 2020 WWF research indicated that fewer than 7,000 snow leopards remain globally, of which approximately 200 to 420 individuals inhabit the northern mountain ranges of Pakistan including the Gilgit-Baltistan region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK).
In a press release issued on Saturday, WWF-Pakistan said it had written a letter to the climate change ministry saying that it opposed the proposed transfer of two snow leopards, currently at the Naltar Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Gilgit-Baltistan, to the Moscow Zoo in Russia.
The WWF said it had stressed in the letter that transferring leopards to Russia would not only contradict national and international conservation commitments but also risk setting a “highly detrimental precedent” for the future transfer of threatened and iconic wildlife species from Pakistan.
“WWF-Pakistan expressed its deepest concern and opposition to the move and demanded that the proposed export of snow leopards be immediately canceled,” the non-government organization said.
“The organization also called for the reaffirmation of Pakistan’s commitment to the conservation of its iconic wildlife species and emphasized upholding the obligations under international agreements.”
It said that the snow leopard, listed as a threatened (vulnerable) species on the IUCN Red List for threatened species (2017), receives the highest level of legal protection under Pakistan’s national and provincial wildlife legislation.
This also extends to Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK, the statement added.
Additionally, it said the species is included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which strictly prohibits international trade except under exceptional and non-commercial circumstances.
“It further said there is no compelling conservation rationale for transferring these snow leopards to Russia, a country that already hosts a significantly larger wild population of the species,” WWF-Pakistan said.
The NGO recommended that instead of exporting the animals, Pakistan should demonstrate global leadership by reinforcing its commitment to protecting its remaining wild snow leopard populations.
“The organization also highlighted the risk that once the snow leopards are transferred, it would be difficult to monitor or ensure the well-being of these animals under Russian jurisdiction,” it added.
Hammad Naqi Khan, director general of WWF-Pakistan, said that the approval of this transfer would undermine decades of conservation progress and significantly damage Pakistan’s standing in the global conservation community.
“We need to uphold Pakistan’s obligations under international agreements such as CITES and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) by prioritizing the protection of vulnerable and critically endangered species within national borders,” Khan said.
