Kurdish religious body issues Fatwa against hunting animals
Erbil (Kurdistan 24) – An Islamic religious authority in the Kurdistan Region on Sunday proclaimed it ‘Haram’ (forbidden) to hunt wild animals and called on citizens to abide by the laws and regulations of the regional government in that regard.
“Citizens need to protect the environment of the Kurdistan Region,” a statement from the Kurdistan Region Fatwa Committee read, claiming that Islam “considers it wrong and Haram” to hunt animals, “especially during mating season” or if done for “pleasure and sport,” or if the breed is rare.
The committee called on all individuals and fishermen, in particular, to “comply with” the rules as set by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), “because they serve the public interest.”
In terms of government regulations, the KRG issues a warning in mid-March of every year to licensed hunters to cease hunting and fishing during the springtime to preserve wildlife. The timeline is three months long, starting from March 15, and is within the same time range of the animals’ mating season.
Despite the temporary ban, illegal hunting goes on and combined with excesses in practice, with many hunting without a permit, environmentalists claim a sharp decline in the population of wildlife and even their extinction is possible.
The diversity of the plains of the Kurdistan Region have allowed it to foster a rich fauna and flora and activists continue to raise awareness about the importance of caring for wildlife to conserve the beauty they instill in the region’s environment.
Mid-April, the KRG launched a week-long campaign to promote greater environmental awareness, with Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani calling on the public to be more mindful of their carbon imprint, end littering, and start recycling.
Another factor that has environmentalists concerned—and also addressed during the latest KRG campaign—is forests and the deterioration thereof as a result of multiple factors, ranging from Turkish bombardments to rural populations cutting trees down to use as firewood. The deforestation of the Kurdistan Region also affects wildlife levels, exacerbating the problem of preservation.
Editing by Nadia Riva
