2 mountain cats freed in Panjshir on World Wildlife Day

PARAKH (Pajhwok): Two mountain cats, who attacked livestock and captured by shepherds in central Panjshir province, were freed on the occasion of World Wildlife Day, an official said Tuesday.

Mohammad Rauf Yaqubi, Panjshir agriculture director, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the two wild animals were a type of mountain cats.

The two cats came down from the mountain and strayed into residential areas of Panjshir after continued snowfall and coldness and in search of food, he said.

He said one of the cats appeared in Mrashtan area of Rakha district and another in Jangalak area of the capital of Panjshir province.

The cats were beaten and injured with sticks by shepherds after they attacked their livestock, he said, adding the shepherds captured the cats and then security forces took them for protection and treated their injuries.

The agriculture department decided to release the mountain cats for survival of wild animals’ generation, he said.

Yaqubi said the animals were released on the occasion of World Wildlife Day in areas where they were captured in presence of some officials on Monday.

Hunting animals and birds has been banned since 2008 following a presidential decree.

According to reports, more than 500 types of birds and 120 types of mammalian animals have been identified in Afghanistan but around 85 percent of them have vanished due to various reasons.

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