The Cabinet has approved the Parks and Wildlife Amendment Bill (2023) which seeks to broaden the scope of the Parks Act by harmonising the Act with wildlife legislation.
This was revealed by acting Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Jenfan Muswere while presenting the post-Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday. Said Muswere:
The Bill will also provide for sustainable utilisation, sustainable development, the precautionary principle, community participation, access and benefit-sharing and to take into cognisance regional and international instruments on wildlife.
The Amendment Bill will repeal the Quelea (Control) Act (Chapter 19:10), and the Trapping of Animals Act (Control) (Chapter20:21) and align the Act to the Constitution.
The Bill will provide for the creation of a Human-Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund which will offer some monetary relief to victims of human-wildlife conflict.
Last year, the Government approved the Human-Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund to compensate victims of human and wildlife conflict (HWC), with payments covering three categories: death, maiming, and injuries.
The Government said the relief fund will pay for funeral costs, hospitalisation, and treatment up to a certain limit.
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