Colombia said NO to sport hunting

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Although this activity has "recreational purposes", the Constitutional Court considered that sport hunting is animal abuse

With a fulminating ruling, on February 6 of this year, the Constitutional Court of Colombia declared unconstitutional the rules that allowed sport hunting in the country. After studying the lawsuit by environmentalist Laura Juliana Santacoloma, the Court ruled that sport hunting will not be legal. The vote was 7 against 2.

Leer en español: Colombia le dijo NO a la caza deportiva

According to statements delivered by magistrate Antonio José Lizarazo, "it is not constitutionally admissible to kill or mistreat animals for the sole purpose of recreation, with the sole purpose of recreation, because that is incompatible with the obligation or the constitutional mandate of the protection of the environment, of which the other living beings are part, the other sentient beings".

This new standard will become effective within one year. As of the date, those who practice sport hunting could be penalized when incurring an unconstitutional activity. The penalties that will be applied are those that are contemplated in the Penal Code for animal abuse.

Today, according to Semana, there are a thousand people who are accredited to carry out this "sport". To exercise this activity, the "athletes" must be registered with the Colombian Federation of Shooting and Sport Hunting, have a license, and pay an annual membership of $ 600,000 COP.

From 2020, the species that are no longer legal to hunt are:

• Duck
• Pisco duck
• Common partridge
• Torcaza
• Wild pigeon
• Whitetail deer

At the moment, sport fishing will remain legal because the Court did not rule on it.

The decision was not well received

The decision generated controversy in different sectors of the coffee nation, because in the previous government it was requested not to prohibit hunting. At that time, the Ministry of Environment and the Legal Agency stated that the fact that this activity was not socially accepted did not imply that it was unconstitutional.

Also read: Stop sport hunting!

However, in extemporaneous statements while studying the lawsuit, the Ministry of Environment in the company of other portfolios such as Health, Agriculture, among others, under the command of Iván Duque, issued a statement in which they rejected the hunt considering that hunting is only funny for hunters and it produces suffering for animals.

The decision had the approval of the Attorney General, since, on the one hand, allowing this activity goes against the environmental advances that the country has made. On the other hand, hunting allows the mutilation of animals and leaving them injured, which increases the suffering of these beings.

This is another step in the recognition of animals as sentient beings and not as resources for human amusement.

LatinAmerican Post | Marcela Peñaloza
Translated from "Colombia le dijo NO a la caza deportiva"