Ban on Wildlife in Guyana Continues Despite Opponents
11/26/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Ban On Wildlife Continues-but Ministry Assures Matters
Being Sorted Out
Source: Forest Peoples Programme
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 26, 1999
Byline: Forest Peoples Programme
The ban on Guyana's wildlife trade is still in effect, according to
some wildlife exporters, but the word from government's Wildlife
Division is: "Everything is okay."
The ban was imposed by the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) on September 30, after
Guyana failed to submit draft legislation to regulate its local
wildlife trade. When contacted yesterday, Sehabiraj Ramdass,
administrative finance officer of the Wildlife Division said trade
never ceased and the matter was being sorted out.
A source told Stabroek News that the legislation submitted will not
be reviewed by CITES until the end of the month, when a decision will
be made whether or not to resume trade with Guyana. A previous draft
was thrown out by CITES. But some wildlife exporters are of the
opinion that the regulations drafted are inadequate and, even if they
are approved by CITES, exporters will be forced out of business
because of what they claim to be exorbitant fees introduced.
"Anybody who feels they can make a living under those regulations
sure got another think coming," was one exporter's view on the
situation. The exporter pointed out that according to the new
regulations, the total fees per shipment would add up to
approximately $1 million when previously it was about $50,000. The
already high tax regime governing the trade, causes animals to be
smuggled over to Suriname where they are sold on the market at a
cheaper price which Guyanese exporters cannot compete with.
In a study done by CITES in 1993, headed by Dr Stephen Edwards, it
was recommended that "care should be taken to ensure that government
assessment [licences, levy, and export tax] does not increase the
cost to the exporter to the point that he/she is not competitive in
the international market."
The new regulations failed to address the issue of the preservation
of flora and fauna, one exporter said, but deals mainly with the
import and export of the species. This is contrary to the guidelines
for legislation to implement CITES. A table each was drawn up in the
document listing species threatened with extinction in Guyana and
species requiring protection in Guyana. The giant anteater and the
cock-of-the-rock are listed under animals threatened with extinction,
but this is not the belief of some exporters. According to a few, who
stated that they were not consulted, these two species are not hunted
for anything--food, pets, nor any other commercial venture--so they
should not be on the list. Describing parts of the legislation as
totally absurd, an exporter highlighted a clause which made it
mandatory for birds to drop faeces on each other. According to 52 (1)
(d) of the draft legislation dealing with ages, it states: "perches
shall, when within a cage, be so placed so as to allow droppings of
one animal to be deposited on another within the cage." The document
also made it a requirement that snakes and lizards in transit for six
hours or less shall be transported in bags made of cloth or other
soft or porous material when this is clearly in contravention of the
International Air Transport Authority's rules. Exporters are
protesting over the need for them to obtain health certificates and
put these up for public scrutiny, thus encouraging invasion of
privacy. It was noted that neither the trade in flora nor the booming
wild meat trade were addressed.