PHOTO: Burning of the meat (above) aggrieved business woman Alice Wantoe (below)
By King Brown, Sarwahking@gmail.com
BUCHANAN, Liberia- The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) has gone on the offensive against dealers in the illegal sale of bush meat, among them endangered wildlife species, which is put at nearly two million Liberian dollars.
In this country, the current exchange rate is at least 150 Liberian dollars to one United States dollar.
The FDA’s Regional office in Grand Bassa County over the weekend arrested and burnt about three hundred and 80 pieces of dried bush meat worth over 1.6 million Liberian dollars in the southern port city of Buchanan.
The Regional Forester of Rivercess, Grand Bassa and Nimba counties, James Flomo said that the huge quantity of dried bush meat was arrested from three market women and burnt at the FDA local office in the presence of the Liberia National Police, media and citizens.
Mr. Flomo said eighteen trained Rangers of the Sapo National Park arrested a pickup truck (vehicle) filled of dried meat last Thursday night between the intersection of Nimba and Rivercess counties, while in route to Monrovia and found some wildlife species among the three hundred and eighty bodies of dried bush meat.
Mr. James Flomo
According to him, those Rangers who made the arrest are experts from the Sapo National Park trained by the government of Liberia to determine protected and unprotected species across the country.
He mentioned that his officers told him the meat came from the Sapo National Park within Grand Gedeh and Nimba Counties, which has been declared by national and International organizations as Liberia’s largest protested rainforest. And nobody is allowed to hunt in it and killed protected wildlife species, something which he said they have done.
Pick up carrying the dry bush meat
Mr. Flomo said the killing of protected wildlife species violated chapter 11.1 of the National Wildlife regulation, something that led them to burn the dried bush meat and turned those marketers over to the police for investigation in accordance with the law to serve as deterrence to others.
“The Managing Director of FDA told us to threat wildlife trade like narcotic drugs so this is just a caveat that we are on the move as FDA officers, any attempt we will arrest, burnt your meat and take legal action against you for killing wildlife animals because we want to curtail it in Liberia,” Mr. Flomo added.
“There is a convention that Liberia is part of that prohibits killing of wildlife species, we want to discourage people from selling or hunting for protected animals and if anybody feels that their rights have been violated by us they should take us to court for burning their meat,” the Regional Forester explained.
Several arrested
Those arrested and jailed were Aloe Sogbe, 48, Olive Jardiah, 26 and Alice Wantoe, 30, while the pickup truck driver escaped the scene and has not been found.
Also speaking, the head of the aggrieved business women Alice Wantoe alleged that the eighteen Rangers took away LD$30-thousand from them as a bribe to allow them take the huge consignment of dried bush meat to Monrovia for sale.
Madam Wanton said the men initially told her to pay $40-thousand LRD but they never had it so they gave them $ 30-thousand Liberian dollars to let them go, something which the FDA Rangers denied.
“Those who took my $30-thousand Liberian dollars from me God will see them, except I did not give it to you, you people took my money to an extend where I don’t even have transportation to go back Monrovia, distributed my money among yourselves before taking us Buchanan, brunt our meat and jailed us,” Madam Wanton said.
“In tears she noted “For me, I am hopeless and even want to die now because I have no means of paying back money that I credited from people just to buy goods, sell and pay them back, I have lost everything and at the sometime I have fallen into a big trouble with those who are credited money from to do business,” Market woman Wantoe lamented.
Responding to the allegation, Mr. Flomo urged the aggrieved women to take legal action against the Rangers who allegedly took 30-thousand Liberian dollars from them if they have evidence.
The Forester of Region three -FDA added “I have not received any information from anybody about Rangers taking bribe in the tone of $30-thousand Liberian dollars from them. The FDA law forbids us not to take bribe; anyone caught taking bribe will be prosecuted by law so, let them go to court.
Mr. Flomo further “I am not also aware that my officers stole some pieces of the dry meat they arrested and burned the balance until it is proven”.
However, this Reporter continues to investigating the alleged $30- thousand Liberian dollars bribery accusation and stealing of some pieces of dried meat by enforcement officers of the Forestry Development Authority.
Recently, about three fishermen of Bacconie community outside Buchanan were arrested for killing a sea turtle. They were Augustine Paye, Enoch King and Godpower Sayon. The sea turtle is described as protected wildlife species in Liberia.
The men were arrested by a conservation team stationed in Bacconie Community headed by Alphonso Gee in collaboration with the enforcement armed of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority, Environmental Protection Agency and Forestry Development Authority.
According to the County Coordinator of NaFAA, Mr. Ben Sieh, the sea turtle is listed by both national and international organizations as one of the wildlife species that nobody should hunt for.
Mr. Sieh said though they burnt the dead turtle, but the fishermen were transferred to court to be prosecuted because it is prohibited by law in Liberia and other international protocols that nobody is allowed to hunt and killed wildlife that is declared protected in the forest.