The graceful flamingoes and Scarlet Ibis that tourists venture to the Caroni Swamp to view are now finding their way into hunters’ pots.
The worrisome and illegal hunting is a practice T&T Incoming Tour Operators’ Association vice president Stephen Broadbridge says has the potential to severely hamper the local tourism industry.
Broadbridge said flamingoes, which are migratory birds, stop over in Trinidad on their way to South America. Some flocks even settle for lengthy periods, adding to the attraction of the Caroni Bird Sanctuary. During many trips into the sanctuary, tour operators also find feathers from the Scarlet Ibis, T&T’s national bird, which have been plucked by hunters.
With gunshots ringing out daily in areas where hunting is prohibited, the protected birds that aren’t caught are flying away because the hunters are creating a hostile environment, he said. Broadbridge said about a month ago there were 50 flamingoes in the sanctuary, but now 14 remain.
“What we are seeing is much less than the 50 birds that were there last month. The flamingoes are a migratory species and we have what is called the Greater Flamingo passing through,” Broadbridge said.
“To me it is embarrassing as a country because this bird is not native to us, they only stop here en route to their nesting grounds. In other countries these birds are safe and left alone, but when they come here we kill and eat them. They do not belong to us. In Trinidad, persons in Felicity and Caroni have these birds in their freezers.”
The birds usually feed in a game sanctuary of the Caroni Swamp, which means it is illegal for people to hunt there under the Conservation of Wildlife Act. Within the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, there is a Wildlife Section mandated to oversee these areas and protect wildlife. However, Broadbridge said there are now no patrol boats after the engines were stolen from a storage room. He said one of the boats was stolen and later recovered with bullet holes.
Not only does the lack of protection in the Caroni Swamp result in the death and migration of wildlife, Broadbridge said it further destroys the tourism industry, which earns significant foreign exchange. He said T&T attracts visitors from around the world because of its rich eco-tourism market. While there is potential to expand the market, he said the Government is taxing the industry and not giving anything in return. He said all the tour operators are asking for is that money be spent to conserved wildlife and forests.
“Government does not have a lot of time to act. We are losing revenue in oil and to be honest, it was never stable. We are not going to have oil for long again and we need foreign exchange. People from all over the world come to Trinidad and Tobago to see what we have,” he said.
“They’re making millions in tax from tourism and all we’re asking is that they take some of the foreign exchange we earn and put some back into protecting the wildlife.”
