Cry of the Jaguar
6/16/97
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Headline: Cry of the Jaguar
Source: The Environment News Service
Date: 6/16/97
Author: Julio Cesar Centeno, PhD
Copyright c 1997 ENS, Inc.
MERIDA, Venezuela, June 16, 1997 (ENS) - The jaguar is the largest feline
and the most powerful predator in America. It may measure as much as 2
meters in length, excluding the tail. It is most abundant in the dense
tropical forests of Central and South America, although its natural range
includes other environments. It was worshiped as a God by pre-Columbian
civilizations, from Mexico to Peru.
The jaguar has been ruthlessly hunted and prosecuted since colonial times.
Even though the killing of jaguars has been illegal in Venezuela for 22
years, during the same time their population has been cut down by half.
Today, it is estimated that some 3000 still survive, mainly in the 35
million hectares (135,100 square miles) of jungle south of the Orinoco
river. The total population in America is estimated around 20,000
individuals.
Each year 80 to 100 get killed in Venezuela alone, mainly by ranchers and
farmers who reportedly feel threatened by loners roaming near cattle
ranches or populated rural areas. Nevertheless, it is also true that
jaguars are also hunted for game, as well as for other reasons. A national
and international elite of hunters is willing to pay 10,000 to 15,000
dollars for a license, which would allow them to legally track and kill a
jaguar in its natural environment.
The skin of an adult may fetch as much as ten thousand dollars as well.
Meat, bones, testicles, and blood are also priced for medicinal and other
purposes, from the search for physical and mental power, to witchcraft and
sexual performance.
Early this year, The National Council for Wildlife, closely associated to
the Ministry of the Environment, approved a proposal by one of its
members, the "environmental" group PROFAUNA, yielding to the dual pressure
posed by, cattle ranchers on the one hand, and hunting groups on the
other. Some hunting cults consider the tracking and killing of jaguars in
a jungle environment as the "ultimate " experience. Thus, despite a
worldwide ban on the hunting of the species, the Minister of the
Environment proudly announced the bizarre idea of allowing for the legal
hunting of jaguars, with 30 of the victims to be exported as trophies each
year. The proposal was based on the questionable argument that the
proceeds would be used for the relocation of other threatening
individuals, further into protected areas.
The inability of the Ministry of the Environment and the National Guard to
control the illegal killing of jaguars and other animals is well
established. The proposal by PROFAUNA and the Ministry was thus viewed
with a considerable dose of apprehension by the public. Questions were
raised about the true motives behind the proposal, including the possible
attempt to make a quick buck at the expense of a threatened species. The
jaguar is listed as "near-threatened" by the World Conservation Union,
IUCN.
The Government presented its odd proposal to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), for consideration at
the meeting now taking place in Harare, Zimbabwe. But the outrage
generated both internally and abroad since the measure became known,
forced the government to step back. In early May it officially announced
the revocation of the measure. It has also withdrawn the proposal
presented to CITES.
Many people, both within the country and abroad, have applauded with a
sight of relief the withdrawal of the proposal from CITES. But, it was
only a relatively irrelevant expression of a far more damaging and
explosive situation in the country.
It is a symbol of national policies aimed at the immediate exploitation
and commercialization of anything with monetary value, regardless of
environmental, social or ethical consequences. It is a grotesque
expression of the improvisation, corruption and incompetence of passing
bureaucrats, when they are allowed to run a country while ignoring its own
citizens and the rights of future generations, as if it was their own
backyard.
This time they could not get away with it. But most of the time they do.