Government | Sunday 19 April, 2015 7:49 am |

The Shoura Council has approved the addition of a defamation penalty on violators of the wildlife protected areas regulations.
The decision was taken at the 30th ordinary session of the Shoura Council held under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Amin Jaafri.
According to the approval, it was revealed that in addition to the penalties, the violator may have to bear the expenses of publishing the final judgment in one or more local newspapers, in the manner deemed appropriate by the court, according to the type of crime committed, its magnitude and impact.

According to wildlife regulations, people are not allowed to hunt animals inside the 16 protected areas in the Kingdom, in the Empty Quarter or in places close to urban settlements. Hunters are warned not to target endangered mammal or bird species, such as oryx, gazelle, ibex, Arabian leopard or ostrich.
Hunters are expected to obtain permits from their respective governorates.
The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Saudi Wildlife Authority (SWA), regulates hunting season in the Kingdom. The year is divided into eight hunting seasons, six of them devoted to birds and two to dhub (desert lizard) and rabbits.

The SWA regularly organizes public awareness programs Kingdom-wide among students, teachers, men and women in various provinces. A team of wildlife experts meets members of the public, who live in and around the protected areas, to teach them the values of conservation of wildlife which would eventually benefit man and environment.
According to local regulations, it is prohibited to import or export birds or animals without a valid permit from the Ministry of Interior. The council also approved a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on joint administrative support between the Saudi Customs Department and its counterpart in South Korea.

Earlier, the council heard a report prepared by the Committee on Financial Affairs on the MoU read out by Committee Chairman Husam Al-Anqari.
On a report prepared by the Committee of Transport, Communications and IT on the topic, the council approved the documents and recommendations of the 25th congress of the Universal Postal Union related to postal services.