“I touch myself capibara. I relate it to a pig ”,“ it is a giant rat what I will have to do ”, were the analogies used by two of the participants of Masterchef Ecuador describing the type of meat they had to cook in the program that aired on January 3, 2022 at night on Teleamazonas.
Then, another participant said that she had to cook a crocodile, of the species known as stifle: “It smells like rotten fish,” she said when describing the reptile’s meat. Other participants had to cook venado and shark tollo.
When one of the program’s judges described the shark, she assured: “It is a kind of small shark. It is not a normal fish, the fillet is different and you (participants) will have to see the best way to cook it”. Meanwhile, when describing the capybara, he stated that “it is one of the largest rodents.”
All four species are wild and are in different categories of danger of extinction or there is insufficient data to determine the risk of their population. In Ecuador, according to current regulations, the person who hunts, fishes, captures, collects, extracts, has, transports, traffics, benefits, exchanges or markets specimens or their parts of terrestrial, marine or aquatic wild flora and fauna, threatened species , in danger of extinction and immigration, will be punished with a custodial sentence of one to three years.
This is why several environmental organizations, animalists, specialists and teachers questioned whether these species have been taken for consumption in the television program.
One of them was Andrés Delgado, specialist in Environmental Law: “In this program they are nowhere near making fin soup. All these animals are animals protected by Ecuadorian laws and this program promotes their consumption. Fatal! Seriously cry”.
When asked if it had an impact on the program being recorded in Colombia, he replied: “Well, in Colombia they are also protected species as this country is a signatory of Cites and other international treaties that protect wildlife. Wherever you want to see it is a reprehensible situation”.
In this program they are nowhere near making fin soup. All these animals are animals protected by Ecuadorian laws and this program promotes their consumption. Fatal! Seriously crying. https://t.co/ai2RcdoDim
– Andres Delgado Garrido (@andydega) January 4, 2022
Meanwhile, the National Animal Movement of Ecuador (MAN) affirmed, through a statement on its social networks, that the consumption of bushmeat is prohibited in the country except for non-commercial or profit subsistence purposes: “Exceptions that clearly do not apply to that show. “
In addition, he asked the program and the channel for an explanation of where the meat came from: “These types of dishes, in this type of shows, try to normalize the consumption of protected animals whose possession makes up the trafficking of wild animals and the destruction of ecosystems”
Although if there were to commit a crime, it would not be criminally punishable in Ecuador, since the hunting and commercialization of these animals did not occur in the country. The Colombian Platform for Animals STOP! He indicated that in the coffee nation there are capybaras and babillas hatcheries, but that the production of the program must demonstrate the origin of that meat. However, for the deer and the tollo “we would think that their use is illegal.”
The Ecuadorian scientist and teacher Santiago Ron also joined in the questions for the program. He indicated that it is “sad to see Teleamazonas promoting the consumption of bushmeat.”
With the “tollo” shark there has been a problem in almost all the ports of South America, since it is the “common” name that fishermen and market traders give to any species of shark. The common tollo (Mustelus whitneyi) is a species that lives more on the coasts of Peru and Chile, but it is not the only one of this genus, there are at least five others.
However, this name can be given to the thresher shark, the diamond and even the hammerhead, protected species and whose fishing is prohibited in Ecuador. In fact, in many markets in the Sierra, a hidden shark is offered under the name of other species such as corvina or dorado.
In 2020, the country banned the fishing and commercialization of five species of shark: Carcharhinus longimanus (ocean shark), Sphyrna zygaena (smooth hammerhead shark), Sphyrna mokarran (giant hammerhead shark), Sphyrna tiburo (shovelhead shark) and Sphyrna lewini (common hammerhead shark).
Shark Action Plan, with pending objectives since 2006 and without catch data
These were added to four others that are also prohibited. Another 20 can be marketed and exported. In Ecuador, “directed” shark fishing is not allowed, only the so-called “incidental”, but several specialists and environmentalists have questioned this term, especially due to the large seizures of shark fins that have been reported in recent years.
In Masterchef Ecuador they did not say what species of deer was the one that was cooked. At least two types are known in the country: the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus peruvianus) and the Andean white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). The two are in the Endangered category due to poaching and the reduction of their habitats, according to the Bioweb portal.
Meanwhile, the “stifle” would be the spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus). In Ecuador, this reptile is in the Least Concern category. There are also other species such as the black caiman and the crocodile of the Coast, the latter is in the Vulnerable category. For the capybara there is not enough data to determine the status of its population.
Last December, organizations such as WCS Ecuador, Proyecto Sacha and the Quito Zoo launched a campaign to discourage wildlife trafficking in Ecuador.
“At the same time that this (Masterchef program) is happening we are campaigning with WCS. While we are taking the air off fighting for the issue, that is broadcast on television with the scope they have, “says Eliana Molineros, director of Proyecto Sacha.
The cruel reality behind the monkey meme that has become viral in these months in Ecuador
The Herpetological Foundation Gustavo Orcés / Vivarium of Quito, Ecuador Animal Protection (PAE), Coca Zoo, Amaru Bioparque Cuenca, Washu Project, Ecuador’s Primates Study Group (GEPE), Yanacocha also participate in the campaign Your house is not my habitat. Animal Rescue Center, and the National Environmental Protection Police Unit.
So far there has not been a statement from the production of the program or the television network in the face of the questions. Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition indicated, in the media WhatsApp chat, that “they will soon issue a statement” on this fact. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
