Notwithstanding restrictions on the practice, Pakistanis feed raptors

Though there has been a recent crackdown on the practice, which many people carry out as an offering to ward off misfortune, Shabnam, a young lady in Lahore, continues to sell little packages of leftover meat to passerby to feed predatory birds.

Hundreds of roadside merchants in busy cities like Lahore and Karachi have long made a living off the custom of throwing gifts from bridges, which are picked up by hawks and kites.

Although the practice has been outlawed for a long time, it is nevertheless carried out in Lahore and other parts of the 240 million-person nation.

Shabnam, who only revealed her first name,that she had been making money for her younger siblings by selling the packages for a year. She earns about 500 rupees a day by selling each package for 20 rupees. She provides 40% to a man who has employed her as a vendor and retains the remaining amount.

Dil Muhammad claims that over the course of ten years, he has hired at least six ladies to work as sellers along a little bridge in Lahore. He claims that he purchases the meat, which is made up of leftover scraps, from nearby stores and gives it to his employees.

Rickshaw driver Amir claims that he often purchases packets to “keep his life safe” since he works long hours on the road and worries about getting into collisions in Lahore’s congested traffic. He throws the meat over the bridge, watching as birds dive to get it before it falls into the sea.

The population of other bird species that predatory birds eat on has been negatively impacted by their expanding numbers, according to wildlife officials, and their continual feeding has made them more hostile toward humans.

“This reliable food source not only maintains current populations but also draws new birds to the area,” senior manager at WWF Pakistan Muhammad Jamshed Iqbal.

“Additionally, the disposal of meat scraps leads to health hazards for both, birds and humans, as it attracts pests and can spread disease.”

The proliferation of kites brought on by easily accessible food is another obstacle to airport operations.

According to a civil aviation authority spokeswoman Saifullah Khan, “kites have been posing a danger to the taking off or landing of flights around Lahore Airport.” Khan talked.

He continued by saying that the district administration and the aviation authority had worked together to conduct many operations against people who fed birds on the rooftops of their houses near the airport.

Khan stated that it is totally forbidden to toss meat or grain around the airport for the purpose of feeding birds, and that in order to protect planes, the aviation authority is soon going to install Birds Repellent Systems at all major airports.

The nation still firmly believes that feeding birds is a kind act, even in spite of these limitations.

As he threw plates full of meat from a Karachi bridge, merchant Ghulam Murtaza said, “If you give sadaqa (charitable offerings), Allah will remove all bad luck and evil from your path.”

“This is a component of our religious views, our religion. This is a ceremony we have been doing from the beginning.”