Over 90% of hunters do not have permit - Wildlife

The Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission (WDFC) on Monday said over 90 per cent of hunters throughout the country are operating illegally.

"Almost all of these hunters do not have licence, which is required by the Wildlife Conservation Regulations permitting them to operate in their respective areas," Mrs Vivian Nunoo, Wildlife Education Officer of the WDFC told the GNA in an interview on Monday.

She attributed this to the procedure of acquisition of the permit. She said some people also say animals are free resources and for that matter there is no need to obtain any permit before embarking on a hunting expedition

"The law requires that applicants indicate the type of apparatus to be used. If it is by gun then there is the need to show its licence and if it is by trap it must be demonstrated to the Executive Director of the WDFC before a permit is issued," the education officer explained.

She said the permit is important because it is prohibited to hunt in some places such as the parks and forest reserves.

"In acquiring the permit one is educated on which kind of animals to hunt. This is because some species are protected by law and are not to be hunted, collected or captured," she said. Mrs Nunoo explained that though one could argue that the animals are free resources they could be extinct if care was not taken to minimise their capture.

Officers of the WDFC, in their efforts to educate hunters, are sometimes met with hostility, she said, but added: "We shall not relent on our oars until the right thing is done."

She reminded hunters that the closed season period when they are not allowed to hunt for game starts from August and ends in December.