St. Vincent Forestry Services is conducting an assessment to evaluate what changes may be required for the hunting season.
Fitzgerald Providence, Director of Forestry Services, stated on NBC Radio that the agency is discussing whether to have a limited or fully-opened hunting season.
According to Providence, the goal is to ensure that the diverse species are not over-exploited.
“Partially protected species include reptiles, mammals, and birds, which we regulate through open and closed seasons. The season is currently closed until the end of September, and we will be studying, listening, and deciding whether to reopen it entirely, as we did last year”.
“We’re looking into it so that we can have a sustainable population of these animals for those who like to go out there and hunt; we see people doing it as a sport, as an aspect of exercise, but we don’t want people over-exploiting these species because over-exploiting them means they won’t be there for future generations.”
The hunting season is closed till the end of September.
Lee Yan is a journalist based in Cebu, Philippines. For the past 10 years, he has worked in the media and writes part-time for the St. Vincent Times.