Cabinet Bans Hunting of Three Species, Here’s for How Long:

Cabinet has approved a one-year hunting and capturing ban on three of Belize’s wildlife species, which now has some conservationists questioning whether it goes far enough.

The moratorium covers the white-lipped peccary, yellow-headed Amazon parrot, and brown brocket deer. It was announced alongside Cabinet’s approval of a new Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill to replace the decades-old legislation ‘Wild Life Protection Act’.

Dr Celso Poot, Managing Director of the Belize Zoo, welcomed the moves, saying, ‘It is something that has been in the works for many years. A lot of consultations have gone into the updating of it… I think that will be welcomed by the conservation community because we have a lot of antiquated laws.”

However, Poot also raised his concern whether one year was enough time for numbers of these species to rebound.

He said, “Those are only three species. There are many species experiencing a decreasing population trend… It should not be for a year; these species take a while for the population to rebound.”

Dr Poot also contended that hicatee turtles should be added to the list.

Tune in tonight at six o’clock for more details on this story.