00:00We of the Tobago Business Chamber wish to express our great disappointment with
00:05the fact that our Prime Minister, who is from Tobago, did not see it fit to also
00:11make a very important change to the Coat of Arms. Since we're making changes to
00:16the Coat of Arms, we might as well do all the proper changes now. This awful, and I
00:22make no apologies for saying so, and you know, you know, unacceptable bird called
00:30the Coquico that graces our Coat of Arms and which is designed or designated as
00:38the bird of Tobago. It's an awful creature. Mr. George said the Coquico is
00:44very loud and destructive. It's destructive, it's loud, it's raucous, it's
00:49noisy, it serves no useful purpose, and yet it's a protected bird. You have
00:54Trinidad, which has the hummingbird designated as, you know, the the bird of
00:59Trinidad. You have the Scarlet Ibis as the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago.
01:03That is on the Coat of Arms. Why is the Coquico still there? Why didn't Dr. Rowley
01:08use this opportunity as a Tobagonian to do a service to Tobagonians and
01:13remove the Coquico and put something proper there instead, even if it's a
01:17hummingbird? George said the bird should be immediately removed. There's
01:21absolutely no need to keep this destructive pest called the Coquico as a
01:27protected bird, as the bird of Tobago, or even on our Coat of Arms. There is
01:31absolutely no redeeming feature to this creature, and we ask that the government
01:37look immediately at removing the Coquico from the Coat of Arms and put the
01:42hummingbird instead. Other Tobagonians are also having their say on the issue.
01:47Now the reason why I say it should not be removed, remember it's a national bird,
01:53and before Martin George was born, that name was already here registered. So there,
02:00they're supposed to leave it as how it's supposed to be. It's not that the birds
02:06make a noise. All birds make noise. You are saying that the birds should be
02:10removed? No, no, leave them right there. What's your view? Should the Coquico
02:15remain on the Coat of Arms? Yeah, yeah. Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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