THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned that it is an offence to knowingly pursue jaguars with the intention to cause harm to them or kill them even though they may present a threat.Jaguars are protected but in a public advisory the EPA stressed that it is criminal to attack or inflict suffering on any wildlife, whether they are protected or not.

The EPA advisory acknowledged that persons may kill wildlife that pose a direct threat to themselves or others.
However, the circumstances should be reported to the nearest police station or the EPA as soon as possible and not later than seven days after the event.
Additionally, the carcass should not be destroyed until the report is made and in the case of protected species, such as jaguars, no part of the animal including teeth, skin or bones should be removed.
PENALTY
The penalty for the offence of causing harm to wildlife or inflicting unnecessary suffering to not only jaguars but all wildlife, is a fine of not less than $75,000 and not more than $500,000 plus imprisonment for six months.
The EPA requested that persons report all threats or nuisances related to wildlife (whether protected or not) to its office or the nearest police station.
Other cases where an animal may not pose a direct threat but is a nuisance must be reported to the agency urgently so that the occurrences can be investigated to inform the most appropriate action to be taken with human safety as a priority and conservation efforts in mind, the EPA said.
It listed its telephone numbers as follows: 225-2062/1218/0506/6917/5467-9/5471-2/6048/6044. Fax number: (592)225-5481.
The EPA advised also that the list of animals protected in Guyana under the Wildlife Management and Conservation Regulations can be found at the following link: http://www.nre.gov.gy/wildlife%20regulations.pdf or its website http://www.epaguyana.org.
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