Miankale and Masked Hunters; Wildlife Trafficking Turnover Threatens the ‘Bird Paradise’

Hossein Ali Ebrahimi Karmani, the Director General of the Environmental Protection Organization of Mazandaran Province, announced that all 100 hunters who recently raided the Miankale Wetland have been arrested.

Since Wednesday, February 20th, multiple reports have been published in local media and subsequently in Iran’s official media outlets regarding armed clashes between masked individuals and environmental rangers in the Miankale Wetland and Ashuradeh Island.

Three days later, the commander of the Environmental Protection Organization’s protection unit announced the end of 72 hours of armed clashes between one hundred hunters and rangers in the protected area of Miankale Wetland.

Colonel Jamshid Mohabbatkhani said on Friday: “Over the past three days, approximately 100 masked hunters, in protest of hunting licenses not being issued over the past two years, rushed toward protected areas and engaged in clashes with environmental rangers. In these clashes, 4 rangers sustained minor injuries.”

Ali Kalane, director of the Miankale Wildlife Refuge, stated that “hunters, coordinated through virtual spaces, carried out these destructive actions in an organized manner.”

The Miankale International Wetland is one of nine biosphere reserves on Earth and Iran’s first wetland registered under the international wetlands convention, and is an important habitat for migratory birds.

The Miankale Peninsula, Gorgan Bay, and Ashuradeh Island are part of the 68,800-hectare Miankale Wildlife Refuge, which covers 2.8 percent of the total area of Mazandaran Province.

The Miankale Wetland, whose territory extends from Behshahr to Bandar Turkmen, hosts various migratory birds in winter such as swallows, egrets, herons, curlews, and plovers, and is known as a “bird paradise.”

However, in recent years, this wetland has experienced various incidents including droughts, repeated fires, and bird deaths. In 2019 and 2020, more than 80,000 birds died from botulism toxin in this wetland. This year, the number of birds that entered the wetland has been significantly lower compared to previous years.

The financial turnover of the wildlife trading market is very high; according to Alireza Sajjadin, head of the Cybersecurity Emergency Center of the Environmental Protection Unit, wildlife trafficking is the second most profitable market after narcotics.

Coinciding with the arrival of autumn and winter seasons and bird migration to Iran’s northern wetlands, many of these travelers end up on restaurant menus. Meanwhile, coinciding with the bird migration season, the market for renting livestock pens on the edges of wetland lands is booming, and farmers rent their lands for hunting seasons for tens of millions of tomans.

The Director General of the Environmental Protection Organization of Mazandaran Province told ILNA regarding bird trafficking: “Wildlife trafficking occurs in Freydun Kenar and the financial turnover of this trafficking is very high. A significant portion of the profit reaches the intermediaries, namely the sellers of trafficked birds.”

One of the markets that, despite being illegal, easily engages in the sale and trafficking of birds is the Freydun Kenar market. As the only market for carcasses of wild and migratory birds in northern Iran, despite hunting bans and even the coronavirus pandemic that caused many businesses to shut down, this market continues to operate.

The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported some time ago: Approximately 9,000 citizens have asked the head of the judiciary to close this market, a task that has not been accomplished for years despite existing laws. However, many believe that due to this market’s long history, no one is able or willing to close it.

According to the newspaper, one of the merchants who has been selling fish next to the Freydun Kenar bird market for years, regarding the trade in rare species, says: “Since last year when the prices of all types of meat increased, the hunters’ business has become more active. They spread their traps at night and during the day, despite the presence of law enforcement officers, they bring their catch and hand it over to sellers. The prices are high. During this season, each hunter, even if not specifically targeting rare species, earns up to 2 million tomans daily, and this amount is tempting.”

According to some environmental activists, given that the February clashes between local hunters and environmental rangers are not the first case this year or the only case in recent years, there is a possibility that with increasing economic pressures and reduced attention to environmental issues in the Islamic Republic’s macro plans and government budget, similar incidents may occur in this region or other protected areas of Iran.

Source: Voice of America