Dear Editor,
On Thursday, September 4, both Stabroek News and Kaieteur News exposed the carelessness of animal traders in their article on the discovery of 20 red and green macaws, one capybara, one very young tapir and one very young puma on the road from the South Rupununi. I had the good fortune of seeing the three animals – tapir, capybara and the puma at the zoo on September 4. All three appeared to be at death’s door, and very dehydrated, especially the tapir who had severe lacerations over the nose, and along the neck and back, but hopefully with the good treatment they are receiving from the zoo’s vet, Dr Nardeo Bassoodeo, the zoo manager, Adonika Spellin and her assistants they will pull through. The macaws were packed many to a small box and had to crouch down for the long miserable journey.
For those unfamiliar with the Rupununi, the road from Aishalton to Lethem takes about five hours, and the road from Lethem to Georgetown another 15 to 20 hours or so, through the roughest set of water and mud-filled holes you can imagine. From the time of their capture these animals and birds would have spent a minimum of 20 to 30 hours in very small and cramped wooden crates with very little water and little if any food.
Since both the tapir and the puma cub are only 2-3 months old they are used to feeding every few hours. When I moistened my fingers with glucose and touched the baby tapir’s nose he immediately began sucking them. Without the attention of the zoo personnel I’m quite sure these animals would have died by now.
Editor, what I cannot understand is how animal traders can be so careless and ruthless – or perhaps a better term is stupid. Why would someone put baby animals through such torture? Does greed for money numb a person’s common sense? I sincerely hope that the person or persons responsible for this crime against animals are not just given a slap on the wrist. For starters I think they should lose their licence for trading in wildlife (assuming they have such a licence). I think they should be made to contribute a few months of community service to the zoo. I think they should be made to pay a fine sufficient to cover the costs of caring for the animals for the period they spend at the zoo. I would like to suggest to the authorities that licences for wildlife traders be reduced in number and limited only to those persons who demonstrate their capacity to properly care for animals in their protection.
One good thing about the road to the Rupununi is that there is only one road and it passes through the centre of Iwokrama, so every vehicle is stopped going into the Iwokrama forest and again as they leave the forest. Without these inspection points God only knows how many live and dead animals would be brought illegally to Georgetown for wildmeat shops and for export.
Let me congratulate the rangers from Iwokrama who stopped the vehicle with the illegal wildlife and personnel from EPA, GRA, the Police Force, and the Zoological Park who provided their support. A special thanks is due to the vet, Dr Bassoodeo, and his assistant, Troy, for responding to these animals’ first needs and providing special vet care, and to Adonika Spellin and her assistants for their ongoing role in giving these orphans a new beginning. Agencies working together can move mountains.
Let this be a wakeup call for all those who trap wildlife without a valid permit.
Yours faithfully,
S Manbodh
