PAPA BOIS CONSERVATION WANTS MORE REGULATIONS ON HUNTING

Interview with Papa Bois Conservation director Steven Broadbridge on hunting.
Posted by CNC3 on Facebook Oct 12, 2015.

LINK TO CNC3 Interview 

Agriculture Minister wants more game wardens to monitor hunting

Wild animal seeks refuge inside of home

The opening of the 2015 hunting season has put wildlife on the run. On Tuesday night a two-year-old anteater ran into the yard  of Cindy Mohammed, of Killdeer Trace, Rio Claro. She put it in a cage and sought help on social media.

Kishan Ramcharan, Forester 1 in the Forestry Division, Ministry of Agriculture, said he came across the request while browsing online later that evening. 

“I observed a post with someone inquiring of a strange species that ventured into their property, I replied informing her that the species is a silky anteater also called poor me one  and that it was a protected species and not listed as a game species under the Conservation of Wildlife Act,” he said.  

Mohammed told Ramcharan that would prefer that the anteater be relocated rather than released in the nearby forests as hunting goes on regularly and she was concerned of its safety. 

Ramcharan said he along with  volunteer conservationists Taariq Ali, Kristopher and Christian Rattansingh, went to Killdeer Trace on Wednesday night. 

There are two species of anteaters in Trinidad. The other is the three toed anteater or matapel. Both have an appetite for ants and small insects and are protected animals. 

Ramcharan said the anteater was taken to an undisclosed wildlife sanctuary.

“In wildlife sanctuaries, hunting is strictly prohibited. The gender was determined to be a male with an average of two to three-years old. The anteater welcomed the new area with enthusiasm only to reach for the highest branch to curl in a ball and sleep comfortably. The ant eater was given the name Marvin and  will also be monitored safely by the Forestry Division,” he said.

Ramcharan urged  members of the public to obey Conservation of Wildlife Act and not poach any protected or endangered species. 

Minister of Agriculture responds

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said he is having discussions with the Ministry of National Security to fill vacancies for game wardens.

Currently they areeviewing the process for the selection of voluntary game wardens since there were concerns over the recruitment of volunteers. Rambharat said the EMA’s survey of wildlife is partially completed.

“There is a need to undertake a survey exercise on nocturnal animals. I await a final report. In the interim the ministry is working internally on serious outstanding issues relating to game wardens and forest officers. 

“Forestry, including the Wildlife Division, has major staffing issues. We must act on poaching and the killing of protected species but our officers are constrained. We are also in discussions with the hunters on the issue of sustainable hunting,” he said. 

Shastri Boodan

Published: 

Thursday, October 15, 2015.  On: m.guardian.co.tt/

                LINK TO ORIGINAL SOURCE 

Caiere Chase does not claim any rights to the above article. All rights belongs to Shastri Boodan and the m.guardian.co.tt website.The article is reproduced her for news, critique and archival purposes only. 

‘Papa Bois’ wants further ban on hunting

WITH the expiration on October 1, of the hunting moratorium, animal conservation group, Papa Bois Conservation, has signalled its intention to launch a national anti-hunting campaign in an effort to rein in on what it describes as the wholesale slaughter of animals in the forest.

In a Facebook post yesterday which featured graphic pictures of hunters posing with dead animals such as deer and iguanas, the group stated: “The slaughter is on. Thousands of hunters are devastating our forest while we do nothing.

“I’m working on anti-hunting bumper stickers. Hope our members will support. Action, not talk! Hundreds of thousands of wild animals are depending on you. Bumper stickers will be sold at cost. Purchase as many as you can afford and get them on as many vehicles as possible.” Meanwhile, Tableland Pineapple Farmers Association (TPFA) representative, Omardath Maharaj, yesterday called on the Ministry of Agriculture to intervene by developing a systematic community forestry-related project for rural communities.

Maharaj, an agricultural economist, said, “ An intervention, properly developed and implemented, will stop further degradation of our wildlife resources while increasing protein food security and reducing meat imports.” He said that there is a disquiet in the national community since the hunting season restarted on October 1 since the hunting moratorium which began in 2013.

Maharaj, however, contended that in the two-year moratorium, between 1987 and 1989, people moved into the forest and planted marijuana instead.

He said, “Large areas of the forests in Biche, Charuma, Cumaca, Ecclesville and Moruga, were overtaken by marijuana interests.” Maharaj also suggested a revision of the Agriculture Incentive Programme to include wildlife farming. 

By: Richardson Dhalai 

Date: Monday 12 October 2015

On: www.newsday.co.tt 

LINK TO SOURCE

Caiere Chase does not claim any rights to this news article. All rights to this article belongs to Richard Dhalai and Newsday.co.tt. This article is posted here for news, critique and archival purposes. 

Worldwide Exclusive: Wisconsin Deer Hunter Fends off Wolves with Walther PK .380

By Jon Draper - Wednesday, September 30, 2015

On: americanhunter.org

On Sept. 23, Matthew Nellessen of Friendship, Wisc., an avid deer hunter and former U.S. Army sergeant who served with the 961st Engineers in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, was scouting a potential hunting area in theColburn Wildlife Management Area of Adams County when he locked eyes with a wolf only 30 yards away. Acting on instinct he gained from military service, Nellessen immediately pulled his sidearm, a Walther PK .380, and chambered a round. 

That’s when things went from bad to worse. As he racked the slide, Nellessen noticed two more wolves approaching from the left.

“It all happened so fast,” said Nellessen. "It was maybe 3-4 seconds and the wolves were on me.” 

The first wolf came in from the right, mouth open, fangs ready to rip into Nellesen's leg. A swift kick from the man’s boot landed square on the wolf's face and deflected the bite. 

“That first wolf missed my leg by 8-10 inches,” he said.

The other two wolves weren’t far behind. As the next wolf leapt toward Nellessen, the man jumped back and was able to fire a single round into the animal. Nellessen was unsure of the lethality of the hit, but two wolves immediately retreated for the bush at the sound of the gunshot and the third limped away “like a gut-shot deer," said Nellessen. 

Though shaken, Nellessen, realizing he had not been injured in the ordeal, made a hasty, yet calculated retreat to his truck, he said, "clearing every bush and tree along the way with my .380.” Reaching a point roughly 600 yards from the truck, Nellessen breathed a small sigh of relief, phoned his wife and informed her of the ordeal.

“I thought, if the wolves were still following me,” said Nellessen, “I ought to give her an idea of where I’m at.”

Once home, he called the Wisconsin DNR.

The following day, with biologists from the Wisconsin DNR and U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services in tow, Nellessen returned to the scene of the attack, hoping to find a dead wolf. At press time no wolf had been found, but Nellessen said the group did find lots of wolf sign, and a blood trail that ended after roughly 150 yards. ...........................................

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE

Minister to hunters: Go easy on the wildlife

This is an article that appeared in the Trinidad Express Newspaper (I don't now the exact date, sometime from late September or early October 2015) referring to the 2015-2016 T&T hunting season.

‘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

Caiere Chase claims no rights to this article. All rights to this article belong to Sue-Ann Wayow and trinidadexpress.com. This article is reproduced here only for news, research and archival purposes only.

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.”

Posted on: www.trinidadexpress.com

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

• Updated on Oct 2, 2015, 1:13 pm AST

    LINK TO SOURCE

Caiere Chase does not claim any rights to this article. All rights to this article belong to Trinidad Express Newspapers and Sue-Ann Wayow. this article is reproduced here for news, research and archival purposes only.