ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan has raised serious concerns over a reported plan to send two snow leopards from northern Pakistan to a zoo in Moscow, urging the government to invest instead in improving local wildlife care facilities.
In a press release issued on Saturday, WWF-Pakistan confirmed it had formally written to the Ministry of Climate Change, calling for the immediate cancellation of the proposed transfer. The two snow leopards currently live at the Naltar Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The organisation warned that moving the endangered animals abroad would not only breach Pakistan’s conservation responsibilities but could also set a harmful precedent for the future export of rare and protected species.
“WWF-Pakistan expresses its deepest concern and strongly opposes this proposed export, calling for its immediate cancellation,” the statement read.
Snow leopards are notoriously hard to monitor due to their elusive behaviour. A 2020 WWF study estimated that fewer than 7,000 remain globally. In Pakistan, between 200 to 420 are thought to inhabit the mountain regions of Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
WWF-Pakistan pointed out that snow leopards are listed as a “vulnerable” species on the IUCN Red List and enjoy full legal protection under Pakistan’s federal and provincial wildlife laws, including in Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK.
The species is also listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which prohibits international trade except under exceptional and non-commercial circumstances.
The organisation stressed that there is no valid conservation reason to move the animals to Russia, a country that already has a larger wild snow leopard population. It added that once the leopards are outside Pakistani jurisdiction, it would be extremely difficult to monitor their care and welfare.
Instead of exporting these animals, WWF-Pakistan has urged the government to focus on protecting snow leopards within the country and to strengthen local rescue centres.
WWF-Pakistan’s Director General, Hammad Naqi Khan, warned that the proposed export risks undoing years of hard-won progress in conserving the species.
“Pakistan must uphold its responsibilities under international agreements such as CITES and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) by prioritising in-country protection for vulnerable and critically endangered species,” he said.
The group called on the government to reaffirm its commitment to protecting the nation’s iconic wildlife and to stay true to its promises under global environmental agreements.
