The General Secretariat of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States announced that "Mahazah" hunting sanctuary has won the Council's Award as the best wildlife sanctuary in the GCC countries, within framework of its awards for environment and wildlife for the year 1436 AH. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has won five awards out of seven branches. On this occasion, Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Mohammed, President of Saudi Wildlife Authority, explained that the declaration of Mahazah Protected Area as the best wildlife sanctuary in the GCC states was the result of the efforts of the state under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and the Deputy Crown Prince in supporting the Authority's efforts in maintaining and developing wildlife and restoring balance to the natural environments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its regional and international role in this area. The Prince said that Mahazah Protected Area for hunting is one of the outstanding sanctuaries as it is the only fenced protected one in the Kingdom with an area of 2553 square kilo meters, confirming that resettlement in the protected programs has achieved steady successes.
