JEDDAH: The Saudi Wildlife Commission (SWC) is considering raising fines for illegally hunting wildlife on protectorate land to SR50,000 and forcing poachers to pay the “market price” for every animal killed. The penalties would also entail the confiscation of vehicles and equipment used by poachers. The new moves were revealed by Prince Bandar Bin Saud Al-Saud, Secretary General of the SWC, along with a restructuring of the commission at the beginning of the next year and the introduction of more up-to-date technology to assist its conservation work. “We will also have a public awareness program running across the country,” Prince Bandar said. He said that the law bars the hunting of animals of prey, which he described as “living in harmony with the balance of the environment”, and said that punishments for hunters include both fines and prison. “Every offender will be met with the punishment appropriate to him,” he said, citing the case of a Saudi who recently killed dozens of gazelles in the Rub Al-Khali desert and then advertised his actions publicly. “His case was put before the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to issue the appropriate penalty.” Prince Bandar said that the organization's restructuring would entail “awareness, training, and forging relations with relevant authorities and local communities near protectorates”. “The biggest challenge we face is humans,” he said. “We are confident, however, that the people will be an active part of the environment conservation movement.” Of the SWC's successes, Prince Bandar cited the resettlement of the Arabian gazelle and the Arabian leopard and the repopulation of Houbara Bustards. “We have also been able to reintroduce the mangrove tree and the juniper bush, and the Wildlife Commission intends to continue forging ahead with all its repopulation and conservation work,” he said.
