Guatemalan Poachers Busted; Had Baby Peccary and Game Meats

The Friends for Conservation and Development has also detained two Guatemalan poachers in Chiquibul Forest.  Raul and Victorino Rivera were detained on Saturday and handed over to San Ignacio Police. They were found with game meat and a baby peccary.  The young animal was handed over to the Wildlife Referral Clinic.  The men are expected to face charges for possession of game mean and wildlife in a protected area, as well as illegal entry. Rafael Manzanero says poaching is on the rise.

Rafael Manzanero

Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, FCD

“Illegal wildlife trafficking is increasing. I would say that there is no one in Belize that has a true figure on how much is being lost in terms of species and the economy that is found behind that. In terms of the Chiquibul we do know that Scarlet Macaws and other parrots are targeted. In this case, with the  Riveras, these guys who were detained were more than likely after Scarlet Macaws but they were found in their possession with game meat which is also wild pig or wild boar that we normally know as peccary here in Belize. They also had a young one which was more than likely the baby of the mother or father that was killed. The two persons were detained and they were brought out and handed to the police department.  The poachers knew they were within Belizean territory and they are originally from Las Flores de Chiquibul which is in the Peten Department of Guatemala. They were coming in and in fact there were another two that managed to escape. So, these two that were apprehended didn’t have the firearms and more than likely the two who escaped had the firearms that they had been using in the area. So, we do recognize that poaching, illegal hunting is a problem. And we do know that for quite some years the white lipped peccary for quite some years were considered almost locally extinct because of the pressure that the species had in that area.”