Hunters launch wildlife website

To help accomplish this mission, the association recently launched the SEHA’s website, www.sehunters.com, at its end of season function in Tableland.

SEHA is an environmental group dedicated to conserving and protecting the country’s general environment for both humans and animals. According to president Mohan Bholasingh, the website was also established to enable SEHA to disseminate environmental information to a wider cross-section of individuals, nationally, regionally and internationally as well as to environmental groups.

“We believe that as a small island, our ecological management systems are going to be different, so by putting out our information globally on the Internet, we may be able to attract assistance from technical persons in the management of our island environment,” Bholasingh said.

“We’re also using the site to channel our experiences and ideas so that we can influence and enlighten the citizenry about the terrible effects that uncontrolled, unregulated development is having on wildlife habitats and the consequences of such actions for the country.”

By setting up the website Bholasingh said the association hopes that it would motivate people into taking positive actions to conserve and protect wildlife resources.

“Our website is in its embryonic stages, meaning that the members are now beginning to put information on the site. Any environmentalist who has a meaningful contribution to make for the preservation of wildlife can contact us with their comments which will also go on the site,” Bholasingh said.

He said members are hoping that the site is interactive in that comments can come in and SEHA can then send out replies to the public.

“This type of discussion will sensitise and improve the general knowledge base as it relates to wildlife conservation.”

He said the site is also giving the association the opportunity to have its views and activities disseminated to a wider audience.

The decision to set up the site was taken a year ago but SEHA was faced with some setbacks.

“We had to get financing for the site and the only financing for the project came in the form of membership fees which is relatively small, so that’s why it took a long while before it came into reality. We have also gotten small sponsorships in the past but not for the creation of the site,” Bholasingh explained.

He said that the site has received a lot of “hits” in the short space of time that has been in existence.

“University students have been going on the site for information as well as other hunting organisations and conservation groups. Schoolchildren are visiting the site for pictures and other reasons,” Bholasingh pointed out.

“We do our own photography and writing on the website too.”

Bholasingh hoped that the site would become an educational source and one that’s bold enough to address any environmental issue —controversial or otherwise and without fear or favour — that will affect human populations and wildlife.

“We hope to address and bring over our points bold enough to the population which is why we’re asking those citizens to log on to the site and contact us as well, so that we can improve it and make it a strong site.”

SEHA has 492 members but all are not hunters.

“We believe that hunting is really the harvesting of a wildlife resource and that’s why it must be managed because over-hunting can result in the demise of a lot of the species,” Bholasingh said.

“So, that is why we have to talk out, not only against poaching and over-hunting but on other negative ecological impacts.

“So that’s why we, in SEHA, have to talk out on the crucial ecological issues in the land. It might not bring any results but at least it will bring awareness and go deep into the conscience of the decision makers, we hope.”