Dear Editor
I WAS very pleased to read the announcement in the Guyana Chronicle, which confirms that the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2016 has commenced and is now law.
As a wildlife exporter from Maruranau, deep South Rupununi and a Waspishana, I look forward to working closely with the Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission. I am aware that Guyana has been a signatory to the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species from 1977.

Since February 2017, no export licences or export permits were renewed and this has led to a loss of income and work for me and my village members and other villages in the Rupununi. Approximately 5,000 persons in the indigenous communities who provide most of the wildlife species for export, our employees, the producers and veterinarians have not been able to earn an income from this renewable resource for the past six months.

Concerning the incident of the pumas found being transported to Georgetown, I want to assure the Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission and the public in advance that I and our villagers do not condone nor uphold illegal practices of capturing and transportation of our wildlife. Our community here in the Rupununi welcomes the commission’s mandate to promote the wildlife trade as a holistic, sustainable and renewable economic resource with special emphasis on our indigenous communities. We also look forward to cooperating with the commission, so that all concerned with this trade can work towards fulfilling this mandate.

Regards
Elizabeth Perry