By Howard Campbell, Gleaner WriterRESIDENTS OF a St. Elizabeth farming district say they have become prey for a band of bird-hunters led by Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister K.D. Knight, who says he is acting within the law.
The complainants, led by Dr. Omar Beiler and Mark Brooks, a farmer, charge that Mr. Knight and his entourage have endangered their lives by illegally hunting in areas close to their homes in Stanmore district.
According to Mr. Brooks, the practice has continued despite confronting Mr. Knight and members of his hunting party and complaining to the Malvern police.
A LOST CAUSE
"It's a lost cause with the police. I went there (and) one of the officers said he didn't know what they could do. He asked me if I knew who we were dealing with," Mr. Brooks said.
Dr. Beiler, an American citizen, says he has lived in Stanmore for the past seven years. He told The Gleaner that the latest exchange with the hunters took place on August 21 when his wife fled to their house from the backyard where she was hanging clothes, after pellets allegedly fired by the Knight group rained on the property.
Later that day, Dr. Beiler said he confronted a member of the Knight group about their activities. During their talk, he said Mr. Knight arrived on the scene but seemed to shrug off his concerns. "He didn't have much to say, he motioned his driver to move on. When I put my hand on his car door because I wanted some answers he said I was assaulting him," said Dr. Beiler.
Minister Knight is from St. Elizabeth and owns property there. Dr. Beiler and Mr. Brooks charge that the area where he and his group hunt is off limits for shooting, making their activities illegal.
"They must abide by the law which says you cannot discharge a firearm 40 yards from a public road," said Mr. Brooks.
However, Minister Knight told The Gleaner on Monday that his family has been shooting in the area since the 1930s and had always acted within the law. "The police can do nothing about it because we're doing nothing unlawful," he said.
He also denied that the pellets which allegedly entered Dr. Beiler's home were from the guns of his party. "We're talking about 200 yards (between the properties), they (pellets) can't reach there," he said.
A POPULAR SPORT
Bird-shooting is a popular sport among middle-class Jamaicans. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA), the annual six-week season starts on August 21 and ends on September 26. Hunting is permitted from sunrise to 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to sunset on Saturdays. On Sundays, gaming takes place from sunrise to 9:00 a.m. Pellet wounds are generally not considered life-threatening. However, victims including Jamaica Labour Party Chairman Bruce Golding have suffered serious injury to the eye while bird hunting.
