Bird hunter’s licences go on sale

The sale of game bird hunter’s licences for persons planning to hunt domestic game birds in this year’s annual hunting season, which runs from Saturday, August 20 to Sunday, September 25, has begun.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) made this announcement in an advertisement carried in The Sunday Gleaner of August 14, listing its St Andrew and Port Antonio, Portland offices as two of the 14 places authorised to sell the licences for $25,000.

Hunters are being reminded that a Tax Registration Number is required when buying the hunter’s licence, and they should have submitted a completed Game Birds Hunting Report Form for the previous year, on or before December 31, 2022. Hunters who have not made their returns will be required to pay a late processing fee of $5,000 before another hunter’s licence is issued.

Meanwhile, the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) is advising that all new applicants for the provisional and minor permits will be required to successfully complete a competent assessment before being issued a permit for the 2022 bird shooting season. A new applicant is an individual who has never been granted a permit by the FLA.

A minor’s permit is required for a shooter between the ages of 11-16 years, while a provisional permit is for persons 17 years old and over.

Hunting during the game bird shooting season is regulated under the Wild Life and Protection Act, and those that may be hunted are the zenaida dove, the white-winged dove, the mourning dove, and the white-crowned pigeon.

The set bag limit for each shooting session is 20 birds, of which there can be no more than 15 white-crowned pigeons. The shooting session is from sunrise to 9 a.m. on Saturdays and from 2.30 p.m. to sunset in the afternoons. On Sundays, shooting will only be allowed from sunrise to 9 a.m.

NEPA is maintaining its zero-tolerance approach for breaches of the Wildlife Protection Act, for which offenders many could be fined a maximum of $100,000 and/or a one-year imprisonment. Hunters charged will also be reported to the FLA for breaches of the Firearm Act.

In 2018, six bird hunters were arrested and charged for breaches of the Wild Life Protection Act on the first day of the bird hunting season, after they were seen hunting in a protected bird sanctuary in Elim, St Elizabeth.