COULTER URGES TIGHTER WILD ANIMALS LICENCES
Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has called on tighter checks on dangerous wild animals after it emerged more than a quarter of all such licences in Northern Ireland are located in the constituency.
Assemblyman Dr Coulter unveiled the information in a written answer he received to a question to the environment minister on wild animal licences, which showed that five of Ulster’s such licences are held in North Antrim.
Dr Coulter said: “In the minister’s response to my question, I was told of the five wild animal licences, three are held in the Ballymena Borough and two in the Ballymoney Borough.
“I had asked the minister to detail the number of people that hold current dangerous wild animal licences, and their location by district council area.
“As a result of this information, I am calling on the minister to ensure these dangerous wild animal licences are renewed annually, and that they should state specifically where the wild animal may be kept and nowhere else.
“I also want the minister to ensure these licences enable the authorities to say exactly where each wild animal is or when it was last there.
“In the interests of public safety, the minister must implement a form of licensing which builds up a database of regular checks on registered dangerous wild animals, not just in my constituency, but across Northern Ireland.
“For example, there are some dangerous wild animals exist which can have a wide range of roaming. Take a Black Panther – it has a range of 70 miles for its territory, so one of these animals could roam from Co Donegal to North Antrim,” said Rev Dr Coulter.