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Minister of Local Government and
Environment, the Hon. Dean Peart has signed the Orders declaring the
2007 Game Bird Hunting Season and an increase in the price of a
Hunter’s Licence. The 2007 season will run for five weekends from
Saturday, September 1 until Sunday, September 30, 2007.
During the season, hunting is
allowed only on weekends: Saturdays, sunrise to 9:00 a.m. and 2:30
p.m. to sunset and on Sunday mornings from sunrise to 9:00 a.m. The
bag limit remains a total of 20 birds at each shoot, except for the
Baldpate of which no more than 15 may be taken in any one shoot. Only
the following four birds may be shot: the Pea Dove (Zenaida aurita),
the White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica), Bald-pate (Columba
Leucocephala) and Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura).
This season, Hunters will pay
$10,000 for the privilege of shooting birds. The $2,000 increase will
help to offset the costs associated with increased monitoring and
surveillance during and outside the season as well as the costs of
conducting the annual bird population survey. The results of the
survey will be used to determine whether or not a season is declared
each year, as well as provide data on the status of the game birds
population.
The National Environment and
Planning Agency is reminding hunters that breaches of the Wild Life
Protection Act will not be tolerated. While in the field, each hunter
must ensure that he or she has in his or her possession, a valid Fire
Arms’ Licence to use a and a Hunter’s Licence issued through NEPA.
Hunters are also being reminded that shooting is prohibited inside the
Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, Game and Forests Reserves.
Shooting is also prohibited within 50 meters of any Game Reserve and
no less than 40 metres from population centres.
The sale of Hunter’s Licence
begins August 7, 2007. All persons who received a Hunter’s Licence for
the 2006 Bird Shooting Season must submit their Hunter’s Game Bird
Shooting Report Form to NEPA and pay a late processing fee of $ 5000.
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