One month to consume all wild meat*

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Bracing for the bush fires

With the Met Office forecasting a particularly arid Dry Season, conservationists are begging citizens to not set bush fires which the Acting Chief Fire Officer said numbered more than 4,000 last year.

Acting CFO Kenny Gopaul said on December 1, 2015 the official fire season began, and he was hoping there would be no repeat of last year.

He said the fire service intends to increase its patrols and fire guardians have already been hired for the purpose of patrolling and monitoring areas.

Gopaul is asking that those who intend to set fires obtain a licence to do so. He said the licence cost $10.

He also advised that if setting fire it should be done at night, in small heaps and when the wind is down.

Gopaul said the public should understand that they can be charge for setting fires without a licence.

The licence can be obtained at any fire service station.

Conservationists: It destroys habitat

Founder of the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation Ricardo Meade said bush fires are habitat destruction in its worst form.

Meade said just as human lives and homes are lost to fires, the same occurs with animals.

He said the consequences of bush fires pose a great threat to the environment and ecology.

Meade said: “many protected animals are injured or die when the blaze cannot be contained. Their homes are lost, families are scattered and the young ones remaining have to fend for themselves”.

He said this is a criminal offence to set fires without a licence.

Forestry officer and founder of the Wildlife and Environmental Protection of Trinidad and Tobago (WEPTT) Kishan Ramcharan said forest and bush fires were an annual tragedy.

He said there are several hot-spot areas including parts of Caura, Lopinot, St. Benedict’s hill and Lady Young in Port of Spain, where fires occur.

Ramcharan said: “the fires not only destroy the homes and habitats of animals, but also causes soil erosion and landslides when the vegetation is burnt so bad”.

He said the cause of the fire include slash and burn agriculture, improper burning of rubbish and debris, fires started by campers and hunters who try to “smoke-out” the wildlife from the forest.

Ramcharan is calling on the public to observe the law and not to become reckless to endanger the lives of others.

He said his organisation will be conducting an education drive to make the public aware of the dangers of fires to the environment.

• Published: Jan 21, 2016, 9:31 am AST
• On: www.trinidadexpress.com
• By: Sandhya Santoo

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Crafty Dog Thieves At Large

Wildmeat “leprosy” warning

Carlton Pope show off his big wild meat catch a armadillo and an agouti for sale along Prince Town Main Road. Photo: Innis Francis.

For those Trinbagonians who hunt and consume wild meat, particularly armadillos (Tatoo) a word of caution.

Cases of the leprosy have been surfacing in South America and Florida where people who handle and consume the creature are suffering the effects of the disease. The carcass of the armadillo is known to be smuggled into Trinidad from South America.

Armadillos are in the medical study of leprosy as they are the few species which can contract the leprosy disease. This is because of their low body temperature is similar to humans.

Human contact of the creature through handling or consumption can spread the disease.

According to conservationist with the Wildlife and Environmental Protection of Trinidad and Tobago (WEPTT) Kristopher Rattansingh, armadillos are natural reservoirs for the leprosy organism, besides humans.

Rattansingh said, he consulted Dr. Janelle Johnson of the University of the West Indies School of Veterinary Medicine, who said the last research was conducted in 1980, by Tota Maharaj.

According to Johnson, there were no cases of leprosy organism in the animal locally and there has been no research since.

Rattansingh said, it is now believed the animal ( the local 9 banded armadillo) is not a carrier, but can be infected, with visible lesions.

Rattansingh also consulted Dr. Carla Phillips of the UWI Veterinary Medicine on the issue, who described the organism as a slow growing, chronic disease.

He said, “This means that it can be present for many years and can go undetected. She (Phillips) stated, “unless tests were done to prove they (armadillos) were negative for the leprosy organism, or some other factor that I am not readily familiar with has proven them to be negative, then we cannot assume they are negative. I do not know the status of the local armadillo population”.

Rattansingh also said if a person comes into contact with the infected tissue or body fluid (blood) that contains the leprosy organism, transmission can occur. He said, “This can be a cause of concern for hunters in Trinidad as they often come into contact with the animal. It’s blood and tissue, and since there are no visual effects or identifiers on the outside of the animal, hunters are very susceptible to being infected with no way of negating the transmission”.

Wildlife and Environmental Protection of Trinidad and Tobago makes a statement

Rattansingh also commented on behalf of the conservation group.

He said, “Without knowing the current status of Armadillos locally, we recognize the dangers and risk of being exposed to the leprosy organism. The research is ongoing and we await for research on the species and the effects. In consultation, if it is proven we will take necessary precautions and advice local agencies such as the forestry division and customs. We recognize that there is an influx of imported species and we don’t know if it is nine banded or 11 banded that has been imported. We also understand that it is now being documented that the local species of nine-banded armadillo that exists in the United States, show symptoms of the disease and may not actually be carriers. Since there is no updated information since 1980, we will definitely look into it through further research, data collection and analysis. If it is a risk we will advise as necessary. However, at this point in time, we do not believe there is cause for any alarm or concern”.

President of the Zoological Society, Gupte Lutchmedial also gave his view on the issue. He said there are known cases of the armadillo carrying and transmitting the disease in South America. However in Trinidad, there is no research conducted on it.

Lutchmedial said this is something which needs closer attention given that the two-year moratorium hunting ban was lifted in October.

• Published on Dec 4, 2015, 8:20 am AST
• By: Sandhya Santoo
• On: trinidadexpress.com

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New conservation group: Ban commercial sale of wildmeat

A newly formed wildlife conservation group is attempting to bridge the gap between hunters and conservationists, and is calling for sustainable hunting by hunters.

Wildlife and Environmental Protection of Trinidad and Tobago (WEPTT) is promoting sustainability regarding wildlife in Trinidad and Tobago.

The members of the organisation include Kishan Ramcharan (Forester I) and conservationists Kristopher Rattansingh, Kristian Rattansingh and Taariq Ali.

The conservationists have been making headlines lately with their volunteer efforts across the country. Their most recent rescues and relocations included the silky anteater, caimans in Valsayn and assistance with the bottlenose dolphin in Orange Valley. However their biggest breakthrough occurred while volunteering in collaboration with Rio Claro Police Station and Forestry Division which led to the arrest of a man who had snakes in his possession for the purpose of consumption last month.

They have also been involved with rectifying disputes between hunters and conservationists.

According to Rattansingh, the only side they have taken is that they want to ensure the continuity of Trinidad’s protected species and eliminate poaching whilst establishing the mutual agreement of sustainability between hunters and conservationists.

He said that there is a need for the push of the implementation of sustainable hunting, since the “concern is wildlife, having and protecting wildlife while we have it and so that their children and generations to come can have it too”.

Rattansingh said that there is a need for more wardens, “but if we strictly regulate how many animals of specific breed, size and species and hold hunters responsible for their catches with systems such as tagging (hunters purchase tags for each of their kills, where they will have to document each kill per tag and return that documentation to forestry for accountability)”, said Rattansingh.

According to Rattansingh, the accountability comes with enforcement by game wardens and if while patrol they find people with untagged animals the violators can be fined and licenses revoked.

He said, “One of the issues that needs to be addressed is that I know of many poachers who want to apply for the honorary game warden program so they can have respective access and powers to use that loophole and poach without being caught. Which I personally (not WEPTT) think that banning wardens themselves from hunting is a good combatant of this loophole. I think it’s a reasonable sacrifice for being a warden”.

He also said that the game wardens and Forestry officers need to be armed as these officers encounter armed hunters and poachers in areas unfamiliar to many and have nothing and no one to protect them.

Rattansingh is suggesting a ban on the commercial sale of wild meat which he believes is a major reason for the extreme poaching which is occurring.

He said, “A ban on commercial sales should have happened yesterday. Wild meat being sold commercially is one of the biggest problems we face. Not only does it promote poachers but it enables them. If they can’t sell it, poaching will decrease. Please note, decrease not stop. Another thing is many of these people who stand on streets selling wild meat is mostly an illegal trade. Many of those vendors don’t have permits to possess the animals they sell. The next thing is many of the consumers don’t have permits to possess the animals they purchase. These are violations of the conservation of wildlife act, section 5 2(b) which states that it is illegal to possess an animal or any part thereof without its respective permit”.

Rattansingh is also calling for law reform. He said the current act that affects Wildlife, The Conservation of Wildlife Act, Chapter 67:01 is in desperate need of revision. The fines in place are almost non-existent and do nothing to put a real dent in the crimes that are being perpetrated.

He said there is desperate need for the revision of listed species and the laws themselves. “The fines themselves need to be increased, so our protected animals are actually protected and violators need not worry about only losing some pocket change”, said Rattansingh.

He said that education is key and “if people understood the importance and necessity of our local wildlife, they would have more respect for their lives too”.

• Published on Nov 13, 2015, 12:05 pm AST
• By Sandhya Santoo
• On: trinidadexpress.com

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Wild meat glory days risk unhappy ending

The hunting season, declared open as one of the first official acts of Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat, continues to make scary news about the fate of T&T wildlife, unprotected and other.

Media images of dead animals taken from the wild may have indulged a taste for the macabre, but have certainly illustrated an all-out assault on the stock of local fauna that is troublingly unsustainable.

At Divali, cruise ship visitors were privileged to savour curried iguana and dumplings at Crown Point. If such a gastronomic treat encourages return visits to Tobago, the tourists cannot be sure any restaurant there will again be able to offer that menu item.

Tobago’s own unhappy wildlife experience is available for instructing present practice across the nation.

Papa Bois Conservation director Marc De Verteuil argues that a total killing-off is possible of animals favoured as wild meat. “Tobago has already lost deer as a species,” he warned.

It is a well-founded fear is that the free-rein slaughter for wild meat, enabled by the lifted hunting ban, could lead to the extermination of some species.

Conservationists and government officials agree on the absence of data on which to base regulation to allow for some limited and regulated hunting, and the natural replacement of slaughtered wildlife.

Under the direction of Minister Rambharat, however, the policy decision has been to err on the side of giving the hunters and their dogs the all-clear.

The result, as seen by Papa Bois, is “a tragedy of the commons”. Since nobody owns the forest, and officials are almost never keeping watch, “individuals just take what they can”.

Apparently, anybody so moved can legally become a hunter, just by paying a trifling $20 for a permit. Mr De Verteuil also points out that prices for an agouti, reaching as high as $400, serve as incentives for the hunter-entrepreneurs of today, who hardly spare a thought for the prospects of tomorrow.

Regulation is absent or inadequate. Non-enforcement of existing law is lamented even by Minister Rambharat.

He worries aloud that no police prosecution has been triggered by the media image of a recognisable someone “roasting the carcass of an anteater”, a protected species.

The minister is thus obliged ineffectually to rely on just the moral suasion of urging freed-up hunters to “be responsible”.

If the new administration has a plan for filling this vacuum of regulation and enforcement, Mr Rambharat should make clear what it is. Meanwhile, wild meat hunters, and eager gourmands, continue to enjoy what could be the last of their glory days.

Express Editorial

• Published on Nov 12, 2015, 7:00 pm AST                                                                               On: trinidadexpress.com                      

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Call For Better Hunting Managment

Anyone for a Divali “Iguana and dumplings”?

The 3,000 or so cruise ship passengers who arrived in Tobago on Monday, have a truly unique meal to sample if they head on over to Crown Point.

There is a Divali special on sale and for the price of $65, they can scarf down on curried/stewed lizard and dumplings. The “guana” will be served on Tuesday at Chef’s BBQ.

Restaurant supervisor Mellisa Dillon said: “well the hunting season opened and a customer came in asking if we want to buy (iguana) and I said why not? We could give it a try. So I got the okay from the higher management, and we bought all the iguana he had, which was about six large ones”.

Dillion said she was catering for 60 customers and was hoping that the “guana” would be all gone by 5p.m Tuesday.

• Published on Nov 9, 2015, 9:32 am AST
• Updated on Nov 9, 2015, 9:34 am AST
• By: Sue-Ann Wayow
  sue-ann.wayow@trinidadexpress.com

Caiere Chase does not claim any rights to this article, all rights belong to the author and the original publisher. This article is reposted here for news, critique and archival purposes.

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‘Lifting of 2-year hunting ban a mistake’

THE lifting of the two-year hunting ban at midnight on Wednesday was a big mistake, according to Stephen Broadbridge, a director of Papa Bois Conservation.

He said hunting of wild animals was a threat to eco-tourism and the animals being hunted were more beneficial alive than dead.

"It is a big mistake because there is no management system in place to manage any kind of hunting in Trinidad and Tobago. We don't have enough wardens. We don't have enough regulations in place and there is not enough regulating. I am against hunting altogether because I think it is not sustainable, especially in its present form, and I think that animals are more valuable to us in eco-tourism than they are to people who hunt. They are also more valuable to the eco-systems on a whole for the functions they play in maintaining the health of our environment. I think it is outrageous to actually slaughter them," Broadbridge said.

He said the forests were already being destroyed and animals should not have to dodge bullets in their habitats.

"Our proposal would be a total ban on hunting and my second proposal, if everybody refuses to ban it, regulate it and enforce the law."

He said endangered species could also be killed accidently in the hunting season.

“And while hunters complained that their livelihood was being threatened, the livelihood of tour guides and eco-tourism companies were also under threat if animals were being hunted,” said Broadbridge.

"There are many mammals and creatures in the forest that allow the forest to survive by regenerating plants. There is a balance in their nature, you remove anything from nature, you will have a cause and effect, anything you remove from the forest will somehow have an imbalance depending on how much you remove."

He added: “Scientists who did research recently found that the only mammal in our forests in healthy supply is the agouti. Everything else is in a very dangerous position. One of our top mammals is the ocelot. It regulates everything in the food chain and it keeps the population under control. The ocelot feeds on the agouti. You cannot protect the ocelot and take away its food source. We should not be going out there and taking an endangered species' food source to start off with."

• Published on Oct 1, 2015, 10:07 pm AST
• By:Sue-Ann Wayow
  At: www.trinidadexpress.com

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Appeal: Ban the sale of wildmeat

Sue-Ann Wayow

sue-ann.wayow@trinidadexpress.com

ALTHOUGH, the hunting season is officially open, the Papa Bois Conservation is asking that there be a ban on the sale of all wildmeat.

Marc De Verteuil, founder and director of the Conservation said commercial hunting was not sustainable and the wildmeat trade added to illegal activity.

De Verteuil said it was no surprise that the ban was lifted after two years but the moratorium was to be used for a fully comprehensive wildlife survey.

“I am not opposed to hunting but I am opposed to hunting without limits, without management, " he said.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat had said on average 18,000 to 20,000 hunting licenses are bought annually.

De Verteuil said: "The results of that survey were to be used to formulation of a scientifically managed hunt. That survey is not complete, so there can be no scientifically managed hunt. It is irresponsible to open the hunting season without knowing the status of wildlife. We live in an island that is subject to heavy development. Wildlife constantly loses ground to quarries, agriculture and housing. Additionally there is wide scale poaching."

He said: "The Minister (of Agriculture) said that some hunter household earn $60,000 per year from hunting. One thing we heard from hunting consultations is that there is a widespread consensus that commercial hunting is unsustainable. I would like to hear the minister ban the sale of wild meat. How can a consumer legally purchase wild meat without a hunting permit? You must have a permit in order to possess wild meat. In my opinion the Conservation of Wildlife Act does not allow for commercial hunting."

"How do these commercial hunters support themselves during the seven months of the year that hunting is closed?" he asked.

De Verteuil added: "The reality is that a lot of wild meat gets imported from Venezuela, illegally. Allowing commercial hunting allows this cross border trade to flourish. Venezuelan wildlife can be sold openly in Trinidad and Tobago under the guise of being locally caught. The wildmeat trade is linked to drug smuggling, weapons smuggling and human trafficking. They all use the same boats so we really do not want to encourage this illegal activity."

He said: " It is unsustainable that in the year 2015 a small island state like Trinidad and Tobago has a near unregulated hunting season with little enforcement. We are blessed with abundant biodiversity but if we continue to take a laid back approach to its management we will lose it.”

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Published  on Oct 2, 2015, 12:05 pm AST

• Updated on Oct 2, 2015, 1:13 pm AST

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Man fined $9,000 for deer carcass

HARNARINE JAGMOHAN was fined $9,000 by the court after a deer was found in pieces in his bag.

Jagmohan, 36, of Barrackpore, faced nine offences of possession of a protected animal when he appeared before Magistrate Halcyon Yorke-Young on Monday.

The Express was told he was charged for each piece of the deer as under the Wildlife Act each piece is considered to be an animal.

It was at 12.20 a.m. on Friday that game warden Steve Seepersad and other officials were on patrol at Saunders Trace, Moruga, when he saw Jagmohan at the side of the road with a knapsack.

Jagmohan's actions aroused suspicion and he was interviewed and searched. The animal was found in pieces in a bag. Jagmohan said a man had given it to him. He was taken to the Moruga police post where Seepersad charged him. The case was prosecuted by Sgt Roger Richardson in the Princes Town Second Magistrates Court.

Yorke-Young fined Jagmohan $1,000 on each of the charges. He was given two months to pay the money or serve three months’ hard labour.

• Published on Aug 11, 2015, 10:17 pm AST, Trinidadexpress.com
• By Nikita Braxton 

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