The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has established a Wildlife Management Steering Committee to support enforcement of the regulations against the illegal hunting and trading of wildlife.
The Committee will be led by Major General (rtd) Joe Singh and represents the interest of all relevant public sector institutions and their stakeholders. “It acts in an advisory capacity to provide general oversight and guidance in the development of strategies and programmes for wildlife management and conservation in Guyana as per the Wildlife Management and Conservation Regulations 2013,” the ministry said in a press release.
The Ministry said that through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it has received several reports of illegally hunted and traded wildlife in Guyana. It did not elaborate.
The wildlife legislation allows for regulating the harvesting of wildlife for various purposes including bush meat and scientific research. Persons who breach the regulations will be subject to penalties ranging from $30,000 to $750,000 and imprisonment. The First Schedule of the Regulation lists all protected species in Guyana. This includes all species of wildcats such as the jaguar and puma “which means that their collection, holding in captivity, hunting, or otherwise molesting is prohibited. This extends to the owning and selling of cat body parts or products thereof.”
In executing its mandate the Committee will liaise with various local and international stakeholders including Panthera and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. This collaboration has realised the development of a 12-month project to build the foundation for monitoring and regulating wildlife harvest in the South-Guyana Region. On its completion the project will be introduced countrywide.
Meanwhile, a communication strategy that the Committee developed will be implemented to inform stakeholders and the public about the key issues related to wildlife management and conservation in Guyana.
There were reports last year that an overseas investor in the interior was trapping and killing large amounts of wildlife. It is unclear if these concerns were investigated by the Ministry of Natural Resources or the Environmental Protection Agency.
Illegal hunting and trading of wildlife have been problems here for several decades.
