BDF snake search 'soon'

by BRYAN WALKER

THE GOVERNMENT'S BOOTS will soon be marching in quick time in search of big snakes on the loose in Barbados.

Captain Aquinas Clarke of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) told the DAILY NATION yesterday in a telephone interview that the army was working with snake expert Damon Corrie and gathering information to launch their assault.

"The training programme will be rolled out next week. Once Corrie can get the material, we will get our soldiers prepared," he said.

Clarke said they were studying the snakes in terms of their make-up, movement and feeding habits, and any other educational information that would assist them in tracking their paths.

Last month, Prime Minister Owen Arthur pledged the army's assistance in tracking down at least ten Burmese pythons, boa constrictors and other non-poisonous snakes believed to have escaped or to have been freed by owners who smuggled them in as babes in the early 1990s. Sightings have been made in St Joseph, St Peter, St James and Christ Church.

Clarke said while the soldiers would be using night-tracking equipment, they would not be carrying guns.

"We will use the night vision devices [but] we will not be carrying weapons; they will not help the situation. We only need cutlasses.

'Capture, not kill'

"Our first intent is to capture [the snakes], not to kill," he said, adding that if they could take them alive, then this could provide some intelligence on other snakes around.

While declining to say how many soldiers would be deployed, he stressed that "we will put the necessary manpower on the ground to assist in the search".

He also said that based on their final meeting with Corrie, which is expected later this week, they would then decide which areas to search first, and how many teams would be deployed.

Meantime, Corrie reported that he met with officials of the Ministry of the Environment, including Minister Elizabeth Thompson, on Monday evening to update them on the situation.

He said the minister and her team were looking at a number of measures to assist, including setting up a 24-hour hotline and response mechanism for snake sightings, as well as what legislative measures could be put in place to further stifle the smuggling trade.

It is understood that the ministry will shortly be issuing a Press release on the matter. Efforts to get a response yesterday from Permanent Secretary Lionel Nurse proved futile.

Corrie reminded the public that should they see any snakes, they should monitor them from a safe distance and call him at 231-2975, Geoffrey at 262-9984 or Corey at 233-8740 as soon as possible.

bryanwalker @nationnews.com