FREDERICK GORE, Kingston businessman, felt the sting of the law last Thursday when he was fined $20,000 for breaching the Wild Life Protection regulations during the recent bird-shooting season.
Mr. Gore, who went before the Adelphi Resident Magistrate's Court, St. James, pleaded guilty to the charge of shooting in excess of the bag limit, an act which is contrary to the Wild Life Protection (Game Bird Hunting Limit) Regulations 2002.
Resident Magistrate Evan Brown fined him $20,000, and if the fine was not paid, he would serve 30 days' in jail.
A monitoring team from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) found Mr. Gore in possession of 19 baldpates (Columba leucocephala) during the morning shoot on August 24, this year. He should have had 15 at most.
This was the second such case brought against bird shooters during the 2002 season, which ran from August 17 to September 22.
The first case involved Maxim Clarke, an attorney-at-law of Montego Bay, who was fined for breaches during the first weekend of the 2002 bird shooting season.
Mr. Clarke, who appeared before RM Evan Brown on August 22, was fined $5,000 after being caught in Irwin, St. James, around 7.10 a.m. on August 17, 2002, by an enforcement team from NEPA and the Environmental Warden Service. His hunting licence was also revoked after he pleaded guilty to the charge of over-shooting his bag limit.
Mr. Clarke had shot 22 baldpates, seven above the bag limit.
Under the Wild Life Protection Act 2002, only 20 birds, including 15 baldpates, may be shot at any shoot.
The 2002 Regulations allow controlled shooting of selected game birds by licensed hunters during an annual six-week open season.
According to NEPA, the objective of controlled hunting is to ensure the sustainability of the bird population. This year four game birds were on the permitted list.
These were: the white-winged
dove (Zenaida asiatica), the baldpate, the long-tailed pea dove (Zenaida
macroura) and the pea dove (Zenaida aurita).
NEPA is warning that under the regulations, hunters must observe a bag limit of no more than 15 baldpates in any one session, whether they are hunting baldpates exclusively or in conjunction with other species. The bag limit is 20 birds for the other game birds on the list. NEPA is reminding the public that the season is now closed and that no bird shooting is allowed outside of the open season.
