A videograb shows EPAA team members seize birds from a farm in Sharjah.

As part of the campaign by the specialised teams in the 2023 wild bird migration season, the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah (EPAA) confiscated 755 bird sound devices and ten migratory birds.

Four violations worth Dhs40,000 were also issued as part of the EPAA’s ongoing campaign to protect the environment, preserve biodiversity, and combat poaching.

In Sharjah, the External Inspection Department of the EPAA confiscated 732 devices, 21 in the city of Kalba and an additional two in the city of Khor Fakkan.

Ten migratory birds were also confiscated in the city of Sharjah. 

In cooperation with the Sharjah Central Region Police, the inspection teams raided two sites where two devices were confiscated and another farm where the birds were seized.

Three devices were confiscated from the free zone in cooperation with the Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority in Al Hamriyah region.

Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, Chairperson of the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah, said, "We are keen to carry out our tasks related to preserving and protecting the environment and spreading environmental awareness throughout society, in implementation and commitment to the directives of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah."

"We are committed to translating his vision into preserving the environment, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability. Accordingly, the specialised teams roam various regions to detect and prevent poaching and confiscate illegal devices and equipment used to carry out these inhuman acts. They also carry out awareness campaigns about the dangers of poaching migratory birds and the need for residents to avoid it," Al Suwaidi. 

Police along with EPAA team raid an area in Sharjah.

Al Suwaidi pointed out that the field tours carried out by the specialised teams in the new 2023 campaign resulted in the confiscation of 755 devices imitating the sounds of birds.

Illegal devices are used for hunting birds by attracting them through the sounds emitted, which leads to the gathering of birds in large numbers around them.

Poachers then set up nets to capture the birds or by releasing birds of prey, such as falcons, to hunt them, which is illegal due to the adverse effects on wildlife and the destruction of natural resources.

The EPAA team’s report indicated that the date of the first arrest was 2nd March, 2023, and the type of violation was using devices to emit bird sounds in wild areas in the Khedira region.

The raid was conducted in cooperation with the Maleiha Police Centre, and a fine was issued for Dhs10,000.

On 8th March, 2023, the teams seized another device that emitted bird sounds in the wildlife area of the Al Blaidah region, and a fine was subsequently issued for Dhs10,000.

On 21st March, 2023, two violations were committed. The first was in the Suhaila region, with a fine worth Dhs10,000.

It concerned the use of devices emitting bird sounds on the farm and resulted from a raid in cooperation with the Al Dhaid police.

The second violation was for possessing endangered migratory seabirds in the Al Khudaira area, where the raid took place in collaboration with the Maleiha Police Centre.

The Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah acknowledged the Executive Council's decision to prohibit hunting wild and migratory birds. This decision is part of the collaboration in executing Administrative Resolution No. (9) of 2016, on the hunting, selling, and possessing of endangered wild and marine migratory birds in the Emirate of Sharjah and Executive Council Resolution No. (12) of 2014 regarding the ban on trading, selling, possessing, using, and importing devices emitting sounds of wild birds in the emirate.