Fine of the Ministry of Ecology, the territory of illegal hunting and critical public opinion

Baku/26.03.21/Turan: The dissemination of photo and video materials on social networks about how tourists from Arab countries hunt birds listed in the Red Book of Azerbaijan in the Ajinohur reserve of the Gakh region caused wide resonance and criticism. The photo and video show how tourists hunt for Caucasian cranes and little bustards.

The head of the State Environmental Security Service of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Hikmet Alizadeh, said that information about illegal hunting of foreign tourists was studied by his employees on the spot.

Alizade told the AzerTAj state agency that two foreign tourists were fined for violating the requirements of Azerbaijani legislation on hunting and causing damage to nature. The head of the service did not specify by the decision of which court the tourists were fined.

Article 291 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Azerbaijan states that failure to comply with the requirements for the protection of species of animals and plants listed in the Red Book of Azerbaijan and under special protection is punishable by a fine of 500 to 700 manats.

The Ecofront, an eco-activist group against environmental disruption, biodiversity and the climate crisis, writes on its Facebook page that the two illegal hunters are Sheikh Zayed ibn Mohammed ibn Butti al-Hamid and his brother Saif.

Their brother Abdullah is one of the ministers of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The one who comments on the hunting statuses distributed by them on social networks is Sheikh Arahman al-Gasim, one of the princes of the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.

However, the official structures of Azerbaijan have not yet confirmed this information. At the same time, the local media have already published information that Arab tourists in previous years illegally hunted in the territory of Azerbaijan.

Ecofront believes that without the adoption of adequate measures from a legal point of view, these cases will repeated, and such acts will remain unpunished.

“First of all, fines must be established, the names of the fined persons must be disclosed, the calculation of the fine must be justified. Those who illegally allowed them into the country must be punished.

The leadership of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, which does not have enough will to prevent tourists from entering the reserve, and is trying to deceive the public by protecting poachers, should be punished," the group of eco-activists notes on their Facebook page.

Public activist and blogger Khabib Muntazir writes on his Twitter account that the Arabs themselves claim that they paid the Ministry of Ecology $ 2,500 thousand for the right to hunt and $ 500 for transporting each falcon into the country.

According to Muntazir, such tourists annually visit the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov, and every time conditions for illegal hunting are created for them. The Ministry of Ecology, the heads of the executive branch and official structures also ignore this. As soon as something spreads on social networks, a small fine is issued and this is where it all ends. The environmental minister is also to blame for this. The absence of any serious measures is an indicator of the management system and disregard of public opinion. -03-