Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Six endangered newborn Urials stolen from their mother have been recovered, officials said on Thursday, in a case that has left a pair of local policemen accused of kidnapping them feeling rather sheepish.

The three male and three female lambs were illegally picked up from the Jhelum district of central Punjab, where around 2,500 are thought to roam in the wild.

The Punjab Urial, known for their curved horns which keep growing throughout their lives, are listed as “endangered” according to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature in Pakistan, and are mainly threatened by degradation of their habitats as well as poaching.

It is forbidden in the country to hunt them, though sixteen permits are issued each year to foreigners, who must pay $16,500 for the privilege. Rana Shahbaz, a senior local wildlife official, said the lambs had been taken from the Salt Range by two local policemen who are believed to have been hired by a well-to-do client — described as a judge by a local daily.