THE CAMPAIGN
The campaign “Accept It, It’s Illegal: Wildlife Belongs to All Costa Ricans” aims to inform Costa Ricans about current legal regulations while raising awareness about harmful practices affecting wildlife—such as hunting, keeping wild animals as pets, illegal trafficking of flora and fauna (and their parts), and irresponsible tourism practices.
This campaign meets the need to educate the Costa Rican population on their duties and obligations regarding wildlife. Wildlife Conservation Law No. 7317 was amended through a popular initiative process in 2013 following years of discussion and analysis involving civil society groups, the academic sector, political parties, and government entities, backed by more than 177,000 Costa Ricans.
The approval of this Law introduces new regulations to properly conserve our country's wildlife. Among the main achievements of this participatory process is the total ban on sport hunting nationwide, making Costa Rica a pioneering country in this field, as well as the declaration of wildlife as a public domain resource and wild flora as a matter of public interest.
THE LAW
The Wildlife Conservation Law is the first law enacted through a Popular Initiative and backed by more than 177,000 citizen signatures.
The initiative reinforces the State's duty to guarantee productive activities related to wildlife management, and makes an exception so that the law does not apply to non-profit traditional practices, usages, and customs in Indigenous communities.
The responsibilities of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) are expanded regarding inter-institutional coordination, promoting citizen participation in the preservation and restoration of ecological balance.
It also regulates wildlife ownership through a registry maintained by SINAC for wildlife management sites—defined as zoos, wildlife breeding centers, rescue centers, nurseries, aquariums, botanical gardens, herbaria, natural history museums, among others—which in turn must have their own management plan.
Legislator Ernesto Chavarría Ruiz pointed out that our country's farmers do not receive a school bonus or have land to work, as the State has taken it from them to give it to national parks. He added that under this law, their human rights are being curtailed, defending a humanist position where the human being is the center of creation.
“I do not belong to the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom; I belong to the being that God created. As a liberal and a Christian, I will never support a proposal that places human beings in second or third place because, as a humanist, human rights and the rights of people must come first—they are the ones protected by the Political Constitution, not animals,” Chavarría stated.
“We had to wait six years for this law to be approved... we could have prevented the disappearance or reduction of certain species, but this is the system Costa Rica has,” said the President, referring to the complexity of legislative processes.
In addition to being a pioneer in Latin America regarding the ban on sport hunting, this law is the first in Costa Rica to be approved through popular initiative.
The bill reached Congress backed by 177,000 signatures (5% of the electoral roll) following a consultation and consensus-building process among environmental and academic organizations, as well as political parties and public entities.
Beyond banning hunting as a sport, the bill modifies the definition of wildlife to encompass all organisms located within maritime and terrestrial territories.
It also allocates financial resources to the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC), the state agency responsible for managing the country’s protected areas, which cover nearly 25% of the national territory.
Another advancement of this legislation is that it criminalizes several offenses against wildlife, establishing criminal and civil penalties for violators.
The law includes fines of up to 1.5 million colones (approx. $3,000) for those who kill wild animals, and 900,000 colones (approx. $2,000) for anyone trafficking in these species.
The Minister of Environment and Energy, René Castro, stated during the signing ceremony that the law is clear regarding the absolute ban on sport hunting, while preserving subsistence hunting practiced by rural communities under controlled conditions.
"EL PAÍS (SPAIN)"
COSTA RICA BECOMES FIRST LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRY TO BAN SPORT HUNTING
The law is the first in the country to be approved through popular initiative.
The Association for the Preservation of Wild Flora and Fauna (APREFLOFAS), the Costa Rican non-governmental organization behind the law, informed EL PAÍS that the Wildlife Conservation Law imposes fines of up to $3,000 and prison sentences of up to four months for those found guilty of sport hunting. “Yes to life,” it proclaimed.
ABC.es
COSTA RICA BANS SPORT HUNTING AT CITIZENS' REQUEST
Congress unanimously approves Wildlife Law. Only President Chinchilla's signature remains for it to take effect.
Jaguars, tapirs, caimans, and songbirds will now be better protected in Costa Rica thanks to a new law proposed and driven by the citizens themselves, which bans sport hunting of any species.
LA NACIÓN
It is essential to work jointly with communities near national parks and protected areas to turn them into allies of conservation.
The medium and long-term goal of the legislation is to transform the culture of “keeping a parrot at home”—a practice that was common in many Costa Rican households until recently—by informing the public about the harmful effects that keeping and purchasing wild animals has on biodiversity.
CR Hoy
DEPUTIES WILL VOTE THIS MONTH THE NEW COSTA RICA WILDLIFE ACT
Several APREFLOFAS members will be visiting the Legislative Assembly to exert “pressure.”
Since 2006, the Association for the Preservation of Wild Flora and Fauna (APREFLOFAS) has been working on the new Wildlife Conservation Law, which had to go through two main processes to reach the Legislative Assembly: collecting 177,344 citizen signatures, and drafting and structuring the new bill.
COSTA RICA NEWS
PRESIDENT CHINCHILLA SIGNS BAN ON HUNTING FOR SPORT
Chinchilla said she regretted that the country had to wait six years for the approval of the bill, and that “during all that time some animal species disappeared.”
The legislation made Costa Rica the first country on the continent to ban hunting for sport and was promoted by local conservation group Apreflofas, through a new legislative procedure known as public initiative. It includes new national standards for wildlife protection similar to those used in other countries.
TICO TIMES
