The Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission has partnered with IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) to train 23 frontline enforcement officers on how to handle live animals seized from the illegal wildlife trade.
The training began yesterday and will go up to Thursday, a release from the Commission said yesterday.
Those being trained include personnel from the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority, the Iwokrama International Centre, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the Ministry of Natural Resources (Corps of Wardens) and the Guyana Police Force.
“Enforcement officers are often the ones who come face-to-face with illegally traded wildlife. They want and need to be prepared to handle live wild animals in a safe and humane way, while also collecting the evidence needed for any future proceedings,” said Loïs Lelanchon, Program Manager for Wildlife Rescue at IFAW.
Noting the negative impacts trafficking can have on the population of wild species in Guyana, Lemuel Cromwell, Director of Monitoring and Compliance (GWCMC) said that a collaborative approach is necessary to fight trafficking and encouraged participants to ensure the skills gained during the training are transferred to their work so that seized animals are handled in a way that would ensure the preservation of their lives.
The training is part of an ongoing project, Confiscated Animals – Rescue and Enforcement Trainings (CARE), led by IFAW and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
The GWCMC said that traffickers targeting Guyana are prone to smuggle bird species, specifically several species of finch. From 2018-2021, the Commission said that at least three wildlife traffickers were stopped by US Customs and Border Control at John F. Kennedy airport in New York. Each trafficker was in possession of at least 25 finches, all likely destined to be sold and to compete in local songbird competitions.
Further, in 2022, three individuals were convicted and charged locally for the attempted smuggling of songbirds to New York and Barbados.
During the training sessions, GWCMC said that the attendees will learn to use confiscation kits designed by IFAW and partners to reduce biosafety risks, safeguard animal welfare and preserve evidence integrity.
The confiscation kits are designed to protect both animals and people. Each kit includes personal protective gear, animal first aid supplies and forensic evidence equipment.
“For most trafficked animals, enforcement officers are their last hope to be rescued and possibly
released back to the wild—which is our ultimate goal,” said Lelanchon.
