Environmentalist not against bird-shooting

Diana McCaulay, CEO of Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), is urging bird hunters to adhere to the establish protocols during the up-coming bird shooting season which runs from August 20 to September 25.

“We are not anti-hunting but we are not in favour of people breaching the bag limit. Whatever the bag limits are…The times of shooting are, they must be strictly adhered to,” McCaulay told THE STAR.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has approved the opening of the 2016 game bird-shooting season in keeping with the recommendations of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA).

The game bird-shooting season is regulated under the Wild Life Protection Act of 1945.

Only certain birds are allowed to be hunted - the baldpate or white-crowned pigeon, the pea dove or zenaida dove, the white-winged dove and the long-tailed pea dove or mourning dove.

No more than 20 birds can be shot in a session, and of these, no more than 15 should be the baldpate (white crowned pigeon). The heads of the birds must be kept for inspection.

Shooters must ensure that they do not shoot in game and forest reserves or within 50 metres from the boundaries of the reserves.

A fine of up to $100,000 will be imposed for shooting protected birds or exceeding the number of birds that are allowed to be hunted in a single session. A shooter can also be imprisoned for breaching any of these rules.