INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, January 25
The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (Fifth Amendment) Rules-1974, recently published in the Nepal Gazette has
stipulated provision of gifting wild animals to foreign countries.
Earlier, the government used to gift live wild animals to foreign
countries through a Cabinet decision.
&If the government of any foreign country requests the Government of Nepal for a wildlife through a
diplomatic channel, the Ministry of Forests and Environment shall form a technical committee to study the possibility and appropriateness of
gifting the animal,& reads the rules.
The seven-member committee headed by deputy director general at the Department of National Parks and
Wildlife Conservation will make a field visit to the proposed habitat of the animal in such a foreign country and submit a report to the
MoFE along with details about the climatic condition and availability of forage
If it deems reasonable to gift the wildlife on the basis of the report submitted by the committee, the MoFE shall send a proposal thereof to
the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers will be the final authority to approve or disapprove the proposal tabled by the
MoFE.
One-horned rhinoceros is one of the favourite wild animals usually expected by foreign countries as gift from Nepal.
Most recently,
Nepal had gifted a pair of endangered one-horned rhinoceros to China in 2018
Bhadra (male) and Rupasi (female) belonging to Chitwan National Park were below two years of age.
Nepal rhino diplomacy dates back to 1985,
when it had gifted a pair of the rare species to India for the first time.
The number of one-horned rhinos Nepal gifted to different
Rhinos were gifted to the US, Germany, Bangladesh, United Kingdom, Japan, Austria, Thailand, Burma and Pakistan as well.
Nepal has also
received elephant, lion, zebra and chimpanzee, among other wild animals, from foreign countries as gifts in return.
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for gifting wildlife to foreign nations appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
