–after rescuing sloth from being sold

By Shauna Jemmott

ANIMAL activist Syeada Manbodh is calling on government to pass the Wildlife Bill and enforce laws governing the protection and management of Guyana’s creatures in the wild.Manbodh made the calls following a rescue mission which saw a sloth being rescued from a vendor at Mon Repos Market, East Coast Demerara and released into its natural habitat.

She was speaking to the Guyana Chronicle at the Guyana Zoological Park Monday, where she and a team of concerned activists and other citizens were in the process of releasing the sloth, which they rescued on Saturday at the Mon Repos Market.

It was taken to David Fernandes’ flower farm aback Bounty Farm on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway and released in some 70 acres of land in a natural environment.

“It’s a two-toed sloth; it eats fruit, nuts and leaves. They have particular type of leaves they eat. So it will have all the trees and whatever to find and eat,” Manbodh noted.

This newspaper understands that the animal seemed excited to be released back into the wild as it climbed quickly into the nearest tree soon after orientation.

The animal activist related that around 10:00 hours Saturday a friend and fellow activist whose name was given as Shirlene was passing by the market when she saw the animal suffering in the sun. It was locked in a small cage. The woman contacted her and along with a few others, she travelled to the area to execute the rescue.

“It was in a very tiny cat trap. We explained to them (the vendors)that this is wrong what they’re doing, because of the conditions they have it under.
“We told the man he has to hand it over, which he did. At first he wanted money, but we told him ‘No, you cannot, because you should not be selling these things on the road in this condition,’ and so he handed it back to us.”

The animal was housed at the zoo for two days. Manbodh said it seemed stressed from the moment she first saw it, until the time before its release on Monday afternoon.

“You can see it was stressed; and it was very aggressive, and hissing and trying to swipe you… He hardly ate anything.”

She pointed out that many coastlanders exercise inhumane treatment towards wild animals and is calling for government’s urgent intervention.

“I’m begging government to enforce laws, especially with the iguana trade. You pass from the airport and you see all these iguanas tied up and it’s so sad. It’s a really terrible situation… when you walk around the streets and you see parrots being sold, macaws being sold, sloths, monkeys… and this is wrong. It shouldn’t happen. They should have respect for them and keep them in a big cage if they have to but I don’t believe in the wildlife trade.”

“…the Wildlife Bill is before parliament and hopefully it passes and they’re able to do more for the country’s wildlife.”

Manbodh thanked the Animal Husbandry Supervisor at the Zoological Park, Prince Dryden for his support in housing the animal at such short notice.

She said animals of the wild should be left to live in the wild and protected.

“Wildlife should be left in the wild and I think the zoo. The zoo is there for us until we have a place to release them,” she told the Guyana Chronicle.

The Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill was tabled in Parliament in May, earlier this year.