QUETTA: A leopard of rare breed was shot dead by locals in the Sui area of Dera Bugti, Balochistan, in another incident of animal cruelty in the country where wildlife remains endangered.
In the videos emerged on Monday, the locals can be seen holding rifles and taking out the body of an adult leopard from a cave and then carrying it away out in the open.
Five of the armed men seen in the videos posing for a picture with the dead feline, who was shot at least thrice as apparent in the videos.
The Dera Bugti administration said that a first information report (FIR) had been registered against the individuals involved in the wild animal's killing and investigation was underway.
Earlier, a case of bodies of leopard cubs, who were allegedly shot dead in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) a day before Eid ul Adha, also surfaced last week.
The matter came to the fore after some social media user posted the pictures of lifeless baby felines, sending AJK wildlife authorities on toes to locate them.
As per Pakistan Wildlife Department, the common leopard is listed as a protected species and is illegal to hunt under all provincial laws of the country.
The leopards are confined to the northern Pakistan with infrequent reports of sighting in some areas of Balochistan.
Besides deforestation and pelt business as a major threat, the mammal is endangered due to frequent occurrences of attacks in their habitat due to lack of awareness among the locals.