14 DAY TRIAL // The news has just broken that Costa Rica has officially become the first country in Latin America to ban hunting as a sport.
Information concerning this major breakthrough in terms of conservation comes shortly after the world's most famous wolf was killed just outside the Yellowstone National Park in the US, so some might argue that this Latin American country is a tad more committed to keeping its biodiversity safe and sound.
Interestingly enough, Costa Rica's Congress first started paying due consideration to the issue of hunting in this country after roughly 177,000 citizens signed a petition and demanded that such a ban be implemented.
This petition was signed and forwarded to Congress about two years ago.
For the time being, roughly 25% of Costa Rica's entire surface is listed as either a national park, or a natural reserve, and this status quo need not come as such a big surprise, seeing how this particular nation is one of the most biodiverse in the world. GMA News explains that, more often than not, the people who come to Costa Rica in order to hunt do not settle for shooting one or two run-off-the-mill birds.
Quite the contrary: some are very much fond of the country's rare and exotic felines, whereas others want to catch rare parrots and turn them into their pets.
According to the same source, Arturo Carballo, the deputy director of a green-oriented organization that contributed to the implementation of this new legislation concerning hunting activities in Costa Rica, explained as follows:
“There is no data on how much money hunting generates in the country, but we do know there are currently clandestine hunting tours that go for about $5,000 (€3,871.29) per person.”
Those who choose to ignore the new rules and regulations and go hunting in Costa Rica can end up spending as much as four months in prison. As well as this, they risk fines of up to $3,000 (€2,322.77).