Saturday, 06 October 2012 14:06


Shafaq News / The Environment and Health Committee in Kurdistan Parliament denied on Saturday that the province imported predatory animals and transferred it to Iraq.
The decision maker of the Committee, Perevan Ismail said in a statement reported for "Shafaq News", that "the Environment and Health Committee in Kurdistan Parliament denied that the province has imported predators because we do not need those animals to import it."
The Iraqi Ministry of the Environment has accused last month, Kurdistan Region of allowing to enter predatory animals illegally into the country, while preventing importing all kinds of crocodiles and confiscate the existing ones.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Environment, Ameer Ali al-Hassoun said in a statement released recently, in which "Shafaq News" received a copy of it, that the committee that was formed by the ministry in coordination with the Ministries of Science and water resources and higher education to reveal how entry predators to Iraq, confirmed that these animals entered to the country illegally and without import licenses through the border crossing points in Kurdistan and two exists with Syria.
The statement stressed that the Committee demanded also to emphasis on owners of selling animals’ shops in al-Khazel historic market in the center of Baghdad to prevent selling and trading of various types of snakes that is considered a risk to human and biodiversity in Iraq.
The environment directorate of Diwaniyah province confirmed, on the seventh of August that a big crocodile appeared in Diwaniyah River for the first time, noting that it raised panic in the ranks of young people who were swimming in it, but pointed out that the environmental conditions of the river don’t help for presence of this type of large amphibians and predators.
Diwaniyah police announced on 9 of last August killing a crocodile, while warned the people not to approach the river to make sure that it is free of crocodiles.
Baghdad areas, especially in Adhamiya nurseries and al-Khazel market are witnessing the exposure of a lot of predators that are sold between citizens at high prices.