Al-Muthanna cracks down on illegal migratory bird hunting

Shafaq News- Al-Muthanna

Authorities in southern Iraq’s Al-Muthanna province have stepped up patrols to prevent illegal hunting as migratory birds arrive from Europe and Asia for the winter, the province’s environment director, Amir Kadhim Al-Aridhi, told Shafaq News on Monday.

The birds travel to warmer parts of Iraq each year, including the marshlands and Al-Samawah desert, Al-Aridhi said. Protected species include flamingos, some types of vultures, the spotted eagle, quail, sandgrouse and Asian houbara bustards, along with other birds protected from hunting.

Article 18 of Iraq’s Environmental Protection and Improvement Law prohibits hunting, killing, capturing, possessing or transporting protected species. The ban also covers migratory birds that stop in Iraq or breed there, as well as their habitats and breeding sites.

Iraq lies along a major migratory route linking Asia, Europe and Africa, and at least 19 globally threatened bird species have been recorded in the country. In July 2026, Iraq’s Strategic Center for Human Rights, citing data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), reported that 134 species were at risk of extinction, mainly due to environmental degradation, water scarcity, illegal hunting and other human pressures.

Read more: Silent extinction: Iraq’s wildlife fades as water runs out