Latest update April 7th, 2025 6:08 AM
Urgent steps should be taken to re-open wildlife trade – Opposition Leader
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition has called on Government to immediately attend to its administrative responsibilities to enable the re-opening of the wildlife trade, simultaneously ensuring that this is done in a renewable
The Office of the Opposition Leader has urged Government to reopen the wildlife trade, after months of closure.
and sustainable manner.
The office said that the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2016 was assented to by President David Granger on October 5, 2016.
“This Act envisages the incorporation of the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission and demands the establishment of the Wildlife Scientific Committee,” it was explained.
It was also intended to satisfy international conventions pertaining to the import and export of wildlife and provide a regulatory framework to bring Guyana into compliance with international standards and best practices; not to bring the trade to a precipitous halt.
However, according to the Opposition Leader’s office, as of Friday, almost six months after the passage of the legislation, there has been no notice or announcement of the re-opening of this commercial trade.
“This inaction has negatively affected the livelihood of exporters, trappers, many Amerindians in Guyana’s hinterland regions and others engaged in this business.”
The office urged the government to act expeditiously to facilitate resumption of the wildlife trade, while concurrently synchronizing the creation of an environment of a smooth and efficient wildlife conservation and management framework, with the capacity for adequate enforcement.
With vast forests still virtually untouched, the wildlife trade has been a lucrative one, despite the many local and international restrictions.
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