Wildlife management experts offer licenses to promote hunter safety, but natives say they violate ‘ancestral rights’

Alessandra and Wadimus of The Snatchers
Photo by Persephone Bolero-Trenton

By Persephone Bolero-Trenton

AMAZON — A new business comes to the jungle promoting hunter safety and good wildlife management practices. Native opposition to modernity, however, could spark a tense battle between the rights of businesses and natives' claims to eternal jungle ownership. 

Alessandra, who goes by the title Empress of Entanglements, and her business partner, Wadimus, who goes by the title Jungle Gentleman of Questionable Intent, began offering hunting licenses in the area around the area of Skull Cave.

“We do offer some wonderful hunting experiences on our hunting grounds. The most fine and rare monkeys are to be found here. With a small fee one can hunt in peace with the protection of the Snatchers,” Alessandra told the Amazon River Sun.

 

Hunt Well. Hunt Wild. Hunt Responsibly.

 

Alessandra and Wadimus call the service “Hunting with Joy,” and they operate under the name The Snatchers. Their motto is “Hunt Well. Hunt Wild. Hunt Responsibly.”

Alessandra explained that the monkeys are quite harmless, but the jaguars are “nasty beasts.” She also said that a huge plant monster inhabits the area, viciously attacking innocent hunters. As part of their service, The Snatchers also protect licensed hunters from this creature.

The Snatchers offer 72-hour licenses within The Snatchers District, and these licenses are offered conditionally. Licensees may hunt all animals but may not hunt The Snatchers’ staff. Violations, the license warns, can result in the confiscation of property and something called “jungle justice,” which is described as fun for The Snatchers’ staff but not so much for the violator.

While many would consider good wildlife management practices and hunting safety to be a valuable service for the jungle, natives oppose any kind of prosperity or economic development. They immediately objected to The Snatchers. 

“It’s just another method of pale people to harass the jungle,” August Firehawk of the Tapirape said. She insisted she nor anyone in her tribe would be purchasing a license and supporting wildlife management. 

Kyra Wulfheart, another Tapi, stated that she has the authority to collect taxes anywhere in the jungle and produced an Ancestral Land Charter, which designates Skull Cave as the rightful land of the “children of the forest.”

 

The natives’ charter could set the stage for a tense legal battle between the jungle’s growing hunting tourism industry and the ancestral claims of the natives. Watch the Amazon River Sun for future updates as they develop.