A few weeks ago we told you about the gruesome death of two jaguars. The senseless killings sparked outrage in many concerned Belizeans including the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, and the Environment.
They sent out a release shortly after offered a ten thousand dollars reward to anyone who could lead them to the killers.
According to Minister of State and Jaguar expert Omar Figueroa, they have gotten some leads but still haven't found the perpetrator.
Hon. Dr. Omar Figueroa, Minister of State
"I think for the most part the country was alarmed and outraged when they saw an iconic species like the Jaguar not only being killed but being decapitated. In my mind when I saw those pictures I was immediately concerned because I thought that perhaps there was an element here that was involved in trafficking jaguar parts. I think that if some point the black market, the trafficking manages to put a price tag on an individual jaguar that can be an important threat to the wild jaguar population. I saw it important for us to take immediate and decisive action and that is what we did. We got some good leads that actually took us out of the country where we managed to bring in Interpol to help us track some suspects. The investigation is still ongoing. We don't really have some good leads right now but I think that if trafficking was involved those that actually part of it know that we were hot on their tails and I think they would think twice about repeating such an incident. Clearly I think the government and the people of this country will not allow such an iconic species to be recklessly persecuted in that manner."
Over the weekend an Ocelot was found dead at mile 38 on the Phillip Goldson highway. It had apparently been knocked down in an area demarcated as a corridor for wild cats.
A reminder that it is illegal to hunt, kill or sell endangered cat species such as jaguars, margays, ocelots, and pumas.
And, again, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons involved in these two recent jaguar killings, a reward of $10,000 is being offered.
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