Game Wardens to get patrol boat, additional staff

THE PURCHASING of an additional patrol boat for game wardens and the hiring and training of 150 peace officers earlier this year are some of the anti-poaching measures that the Ministry of Public Utilities and the Environment are taking to control environmental crime. This was revealed to Newsday recently by new Minister of Public Utilities and the Environment, Pennelope Beckles, at an event in the Nariva Swamp. She spoke to Newsday just before she assisted the game wardens and Nariva villagers in successfully releasing 20 blue and gold macaws back into the Nariva Swamp.

“Resources to help the game wardens do their jobs are coming, such as vehicles and firearms, and other equipment is increasing annually,” the Minister stated. She revealed that her ministry is also placing a lot of emphasis on public education about the need for environmental conservation as another means of reducing the incidents of poaching. When asked if the Government might, in the future, be attempting to create anti-poaching legislation that would authorise specially trained undercover agents and game wardens to penetrate poaching rings, she  said the national environmental policy was still evolving and would be drawing on the experiences of other countries. Additionally, she said she was not aware of the existence of poaching rings existing between mainland Trinidad and neighbouring Tobago.