Do not hunt to sell: Research officer

If an animal in the wild could talk human to you, imagine what that one plea would be.

Nature Park gave these animals a voice yesterday at their event to recognise the World Wildlife Day.

On their poster were the words; Noken baim meat blo sikau.

The message stressed was not to encourage the idea of hunting to sell.

Shirley Mogi and education research officer with the Nature Park said the biggest threat today was of hunters hunting to sell at the markets.

She said in the past, hunting was for household consumption. Today however, the practise has changed as people are driven by money.

“It’s a big issue in PNG – a contributing factor as to why some species are dying out at rapid rates like our cuscus, wallabies, great sea green turtle.

“So we’re trying to encourage children not to buy bush meat because in doing so, you are encouraging this practise to continue.

“Instead, we promote a substitute option – buying farmed animal meat like chicken, pork and beef,” she said.

Mogi gave an example using PIku the pig-nosed turtle, a fresh-water turtle found here along the Kikori-Delta and also in parts of Northern Australia and Irian Jaya.

She said while this endangered species breeds in numbers, the population however is decreasing because people hunt them for their meat and eggs.

”Consuming eggs means no off springs and no next generation”

Author: 
Gloria Bauai