Trophy hunting

IHAD some encounters with wildlife in the mountains. Snakes. Ilahas (wild chickens). It has been decades since I saw talunons (wild boars) but none in the wilds. I saw an abandoned young maral (civet) or a dapay (hawk)—a rare and privileged birdwatching. You can hardly see these birds in the wilds of Negros.

The snake scared me. So I put some distance between me and the animal. In the mountain trail it turned out that the snake was more scared of me.

But I regret that I kept a young irresistible parrot as a pet which fell from its nest. I should have given it to the DENR. I disdain wildlife trophy hunting.

Republic Act No. 9147 otherwise known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act is an act providing for the conservation and protection of wildlife resources and their habitats.

The biggest problem though is not the individual animals but habitat loss.

It is tragic that is happening to other forests as in the Amazon. Brazil’s loss is the world’s loss. As Metro-manilans would say, “Ang sakit ng kalingkingan, damdam ng buong katawan .”

We will suffer the loss when trophy hunters may be allowed to shoot jaguars and other endangered wildlife “for sport” in Brazil’s critically important rainforests.

So too the parrots, otters and monkeys could also be killed or captured alive – even in nature reserves – in the country that is the world’s richest in biodiversity, if Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will have his way.

A bill that would legalize hunting, breeding and selling animals could mean commercial hunting grounds being set up for the first time in more than half a century. At least, the Philippines have “graduated” from these policy issues. The question is more on law enforcement.

As a Filipino citizen in Southeast Asia, I am deeply disturbed of the degrading of Brazil’s natural resource laws.

The assault on environmental and Amazon protections with an executive order transferring the regulation and creation of new indigenous reserves to the agriculture ministry – which is controlled by the powerful agribusiness lobby.

The move sparked outcry from indigenous leaders, who said it threatened their reserves, which make up about 13% of Brazilian territory, and marked a symbolic concession to farming interests at a time when deforestation is rising again.

I pray that Sun Star will link hands with the British-based The Guardian, which it noted that “in our natural world, we refuse to turn away from the climate catastrophe and species extinction. For The Guardian, reporting on the environment is a priority. We give reporting on climate, nature and pollution the prominence it deserves, stories which often go unreported by others in the media.

“At this pivotal time for our species and our planet, we are determined to inform readers about threats, consequences and solutions based on scientific facts, not political prejudice or business interests.”*