A wild Capuchin Monkey in Costa Rica. Photo: AFP/ Matt Tilghman/ Shutterstock.com |
Costa Rica
is set to be the first country in the American continent to ban recreational
hunting after the country's legislature approved the popular measure by a wide
margin. The bill, which bans hunting for sport but still allows culling and
subsistence hunting, was approved late Tuesday by a 41-5 vote. Congress will
revisit the issue on Thursday, but the second round is seen as just a
formality.
President
Laura Chinchilla, who supports the measure, is expected to sign it into law in
the next days.
The ban,
which does not affect fishing for sport, does allow researchers to hunt for
scientific purposes.
Hunters
violating the ban would have to pay a fine of up to $3,000.
Costa Rica
supports an enormous variety of fauna, and is one of the countries with the
highest density of biodiversity in the world.
Wildlife in
Costa Rica include jaguars, armadillos, deer, sloths and several species of
monkeys, as well as a variety of birds, amphibians and reptiles.
Some two
million people visit Costa Rica each year -- a $2 billion business -- and the
country's natural reserves and variety of species are a great attraction.
.
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King Juan Carlos on his €10,000-a-day hunting safari in Botswana, which had been hushed up before he fell and broke his hip. Photograph: Target Press/Barcroft Media |
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