The Forestry Wildlife and Parks Division held a Hunters Workshop on Wednesday, May 11th, to educate stakeholders on wildlife resource management.
Acting Director of Forestry, Wildlife and Parks, Minchinton Burton, addressing the opening ceremony, remarked that hunting is one of the world’s oldest professions.
He says the need to conserve wildlife is one which is ever evolving.
“Hunting and forestry influence game species and populations and their habitats. It also has an effect on non-prey animal and plant species and their ecosystems. As an integral part of agriculture and forestry, hunting is a sustainable form of land use and should meet all modern requirements of environmental protection and nature conservation. Social expectations concerning the treatment and efficient use of our natural resources have changed considerably over the past decades.
“Flora and fauna are considered precious resources worthy of special protection. The fragility of our ecosystem demands great care to maintain our ecological balance and therefore a new understanding of the concept of hunting,” Burton established.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Harold Guiste is particularly pleased that the issue of wildlife preservation is being addressed.
“This is a signal to many including hunters that the present resource should be prudently managed to ensure its sustainability. It means that we are concerned about the status of our wildlife in Dominica. It means too that we are not only concerned, but we are dedicated tp doing something about it.
“We all recognize the role that each of us has to play to ensure that our wildlife resources are not depleted. Don’t ever believe that wildlife resources cannot be depleted- they can become extinct.”
The Permanent Secretary noted the importance of wildlife to tourism and environmental research.
He hopes that the workshop will allow for a better understanding of wildlife legislature.
