{"id":5836,"date":"2023-08-01T13:46:46","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T13:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svk.dlr.mybluehost.me\/?p=5836"},"modified":"2023-10-01T14:43:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T14:43:53","slug":"experto-en-caceria-explica-la-conexion-de-cazadores-con-la-naturaleza-bajo-el-modelo-norteamericano-de-conservacion-de-vida-silvestre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conservationopportunity.org\/en\/experto-en-caceria-explica-la-conexion-de-cazadores-con-la-naturaleza-bajo-el-modelo-norteamericano-de-conservacion-de-vida-silvestre\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunting expert explains hunters' connection to nature under the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to DNER data, animal hunting has been taking place since before Europeans arrived in Puerto Rico.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Idelfonso Ruiz<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The former management officer of the Boquer\u00f3n Wildlife Refuge, Idelfonso Ruiz, indicated that the communities of Puerto Rico that hunt on the island do so \u201crecreationally\u201d to connect with nature and not with the survival approach that the Tainos used to use in the past. This is considered a loss of the wild instinct and love for the organic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, Puerto Ricans no longer harvest their own food; we have lost our animal instinct. We depend on 75% of the food that enters Puerto Rico via barges. Not encouraging hunting on the island puts Puerto Rican citizens at a disadvantage and in the worst case scenario increases starvation,\u201d Ruiz said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Maribel Morales Garc\u00eda<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

According to the former official, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) is responsible for establishing and enforcing the laws, rules and regulations related to the house in Puerto Rico. However, there are exceptions, such as migratory birds from foreign countries, in these situations the jurisdiction would fall in the hands of the federal government in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am a nature lover when I am hunting and it calls my attention to see that with those I hunt with, we do not break Wildlife Law 241 (as amended, 1999). I am very cautious about this and I am also an environmentalist, which means that all of us in my group have to leave the area immaculate, better than when we borrowed it,\u201d said Maribel Morales Garcia, who has been a hunter for more than 38 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morales also explained that she does not hunt as a sport, but rather as a hobby to enjoy nature and fellowship. She also emphasized that with the type of hunting she does, that of birds (pigeons, ducks, turtledoves) and mammals (goats and pigs), her group consumes the meat harvested and does not waste it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annually, the DNER decides which species and places are suitable for hunting without harming the ecosystem. Failure to comply with the agency's specifications may result in fines and even criminal charges. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Fog\u00f3n with firewood, rice with fricassee of hunted pigeons. Photo by Maribel Morales Garc\u00eda. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe department conducts year-round population inventories of birds, such as pigeons and waterfowl. These data are sent by e-mail to the Migratory Bird Office, where experts in statistics and spectral life evaluate the health of the populations,\u201d Ruiz emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hunting season begins in September, with pigeons, followed by ducks and other species. Likewise, the usual times in Isla de Mona, a popular destination for these practices, starting in January until April, where they start allowing bow and arrow and then add the permission to use shotguns. While only hunting is allowed from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Thursday on Mona Island. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Morales Garcia in a cave on the island of mona<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ruiz noted that historically in Puerto Rico, these practices began with the Tainos, who used tools such as nets, fish bones, bows and arrows, baskets, among other arts to catch birds, iguanas, manatees, jicoteas, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey learned to domesticate birds, which they used to hunt parrots. However, it was not until the arrival of European and African man that they developed their fishing and hunting gear to the maximum,\u201d Ruiz said in a written statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulations for the sport<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Ruiz emphasizes that this type of practice is usually passed on generationally by family members, there are some specifications that must be followed, as explained in Regulation 6765, \u201cto govern the conservation and management of wildlife, exotic species and game.\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of these are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n