ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province have made it compulsory for all parrot owners to register their birds, part of a new crackdown on illegal wildlife trade and growing concerns over shrinking native populations.
Under the policy announced this week, each parrot must be registered with the Punjab Wildlife Department for a fee of Rs1,000 and tagged with a numbered identification ring. The rule applies to households, pet owners, breeders, and commercial dealers, while offspring of registered parrots must also be recorded separately.
Deputy Chief Wildlife Ranger Lahore Region, Adnan Warraich, said the step was vital to conservation. “Only licensed breeders and registered dealers will be allowed to operate under the new rules,” he told reporters, stressing that unregulated sales would no longer be tolerated.
The open trade of wild birds and animals remains banned, including at Lahore’s historic Tollinton Market, once a hub of the bird business. Wildlife experts have long warned that rampant trapping and unregulated sales have severely reduced populations of several parrot species in Punjab.
Officials say the initiative is designed not only to safeguard endangered birds but also to encourage responsible pet ownership in a province where parrots are among the most popular household animals.
