The Forestry Department has launched a joint investigation with the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force following the circulation of a disturbing viral video showing two individuals brutally killing at least five Saint Lucian Boa constrictors, locally known as Tete Chien.
The Saint Lucian Boa constrictor is an endangered species, protected under national wildlife legislation. Authorities have confirmed that the killing, consumption or exploitation of the animal is a criminal offence and that those responsible will face the full force of the law.
Assistant Chief Forestry Officer Piyus Haynes confirmed that progress has already been made in identifying those involved.
“We have collaborated with the police and that person, the one whose face was shown on the video, has been identified and we are just collaborating with the police in order to effect an arrest whenever he is located,” Haynes said.
He stressed that the penalties for harming protected wildlife are severe.
“It is an offence. Persons can be charged up to $5,000 per animal, per offence, and you can even be in prison for up to 12 months for committing such criminal acts against our wildlife,” he explained.
Haynes also addressed reports that the animals were killed for consumption, warning that this practice is both illegal and dangerous. “Persons ought not to be eating this [tête chien]. As a matter of fact, persons do not even know whether or not these wild animals, bushmeat, whether or not there are any zoonotic diseases that they can contract from eating of these wild meat,” he said.
He added that the Forestry Department does not support or tolerate such behaviour.
“We will not encourage folks to be eating Bowa. It is an offence. It is against the law. And those persons and those communities that are involved in the eating of Tetia should distance from that,” Haynes stated.
The Assistant Chief Forestry Officer also condemned the extraction of fat from the boa, commonly referred to as snake oil, describing the practice as cruel and unlawful. “Persons have been extracting the fat from under the skin of the boa and they call it the snake oil. The way that they do it is unsustainable and it is also inhumane and it is wrong,” he said.
According to Haynes, the process often leads to the animal’s death. “Persons would use any sharp implement, razor blade or scalpel or whatever, and they would dissect the animal. They would cut through the animal’s skin and most likely that might result in the animal’s death because it is not done in the correct way,” he explained.
He warned that those involved in such activities will also be held accountable. “That again is an offence. So persons who are involved in the extraction of the animal’s fat, the boa’s fat, should also desist from such activity because we do not tolerate these kinds of activities,” Haynes said.
Authorities are urging the public to report any information related to the incident as investigations continue, while reminding citizens that the protection of endangered species is a shared national responsibility.