https://www.the-star.co.ke/new...sident-suluhu-urged/


Order immediate ban on elephant hunting, President Suluhu urged

Trophy hunting in Enduimet area of Tanzania risks wiping out the shared resource
In Summary
The targeted elephants are males in their reproductive prime.
Hunting undermines conservation efforts, disrupts the social structure of elephant communities, and threatens their future.

Over 50 conservation organisations have petitioned Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu to order an immediate ban on elephant trophy hunting.


The organisations warn the ongoing trophy hunting in the Enduimet area of Tanzania risks wiping out the shared resource.

WildlifeDirect, Wildlife Conservation and Management Professionals Society of Kenya, ElephantVoices, Ulinzi Africa Foundation, Amboseli Trust for Elephants, and Save the Elephants have signed the petition.

Others signatories are the Conservancies Association of Kenya, Luigi Footprints Foundation, Maniago Safaris, Wildlife Clubs of Kenya, Teens For Wildlife, Stand Up Shout Out, Nature Kenya, Amboseli Ecosystem Trust, Action For Cheetah Kenya, Big Life Foundation, and Conservation Alliance of Kenya.

The petition says that each elephant is known individually, most of them from birth.

It says the recent trophy hunting not only endangers elephants but also jeopardises this irreplaceable body of knowledge and the genetic legacy of some of Africa's largest-tusked elephants.

"The targeted elephants are males in their reproductive prime and, with tusks symbolising their grandeur, are critical for maintaining the population's genetic propensity for large tusks, which are a major draw for tourism, a vital sector for both our countries."

The petition says the hunting of these individuals undermines conservation efforts, disrupts the social structure of elephant communities, and poses a significant threat to the future of this population.

"We implore you to recognise the scientific, ecological, and economic value of the Amboseli elephants and to grant permanent protection to these icons of Africa in the cross-border area that is part of their regular range," the petitioners say.

The organisations want Suluhu to formalise regulations to ban hunting of elephants in Enduimet Wildlife Management Area, Narco Ranch, Longido GCA, Lake Natron East GCA, and Lake Natron North GCA, and collaborate with Kenya to find alternative conservation strategies that ensure the Amboseli elephants' protection.

There was an international outcry when four individually known elephants, subjects of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project, were shot by trophy hunters on the Tanzanian side of the border in 1994.

In 1995, a moratorium on trophy hunting of this cross-border elephant population was agreed upon between nations.

Late last year, however, two adult males were shot south of the border in Tanzania, ending a 30-year trophy hunting moratorium.

A third elephant was shot in the same area in late February 2024, and, as of March 10, a further three licenses are said to have been granted, raising alarm and putting the integrity of the Amboseli elephant population in jeopardy.

The Amboseli elephants live in Kenya and Tanzania.

The ecosystem includes Amboseli National Park and the surrounding conservancies and lands in Kenya (8,000 km2) and the Enduimet Wildlife Management Area and beyond in Tanzania.

There are currently 2,000 elephants in this ecosystem.

For 51 years, these elephants have been closely studied by the Amboseli Elephant Research Project.

It is the longest continuously running study of elephants in the world and one of the longest studies of any animal.

Each elephant is known individually, has a code number or name, and is documented photographically.

Birth dates for all but a few of the older individuals are known, as are those of the mother, the family, and, in some cases, the father.

A detailed database contains every elephant identified over five decades, including births and deaths, and numbers over 4,000 individuals.

A linked database houses every recorded sighting.

The Amboseli data is an extraordinarily rich and important body of knowledge.

Each individual and each record is a building block that underpins this immense scientific achievement gained over the past half century.

There are 63 elephant families in the Amboseli population, of which 17 families, consisting of 365 members, regularly spend time in Tanzania.

In addition, approximately 30 adult male elephants, over the age of 25 use the Enduimet area and beyond in Tanzania as part of their home range.

Hardly surprising. Reminds me of the old saying, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. If we cannot police ourselves, the government will do it for us.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Hardly surprising. Reminds me of the old saying, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. If we cannot police ourselves, the government will do it for us.

Yup.

The Kenyan petition is hardly going to be taken at face value as the Tanzania Wildlife counterparts and other stakeholders will also have to form their opinion as well before the President puts pen to paper and if she does, I doubt it will be a blanket ban on elephant hunting throughout Tanzania.

This shit-storm came about as a result of the legal killing of an elephant that broke boundaries and became fair game.

What would the reaction have been if that very same elephant had been killed by poachers or by irate villagers protecting their crops?

Do the Kenyan authorities pay the Tanzanian villagers compensation for crop destruction or human injury?

Just curious.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
The Kenyan petition is hardly going to be taken at face value as the Tanzania Wildlife counterparts and other stakeholders will also have to form their opinion as well before the President puts pen to paper and if she does, I doubt it will be a blanket ban on elephant hunting throughout Tanzania.

This shit-storm came about as a result of the legal killing of an elephant that broke boundaries and became fair game.

What would the reaction have been if that very same elephant had been killed by poachers or by irate villagers protecting their crops?

Do the Kenyan authorities pay the Tanzanian villagers compensation for crop destruction or human injury?

Just curious.

Be careful when you justify a legal activity by comparing it to two illegal ones that result in the same conclusion. There is the matter of inference.

The result would have been the same: authorities trying to prevent more killing. People like Richard Bohnam would have engaged the community to convince them not to take their grievances out on the elephant and yes, likely cash would have been disbursed to help the situation and to incentivized the locals against killing.

What would you tell someone like Richard if he came to you and said he thought due to the relatively enclosed nature of the Amboseli elephant herd that they should have free reign across an imaginary political boundary and that hunting in that area specifically should not include elephant to ensure the long term health and growth of the herd?

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
The Kenyan petition is hardly going to be taken at face value as the Tanzania Wildlife counterparts and other stakeholders will also have to form their opinion as well before the President puts pen to paper and if she does, I doubt it will be a blanket ban on elephant hunting throughout Tanzania.

This shit-storm came about as a result of the legal killing of an elephant that broke boundaries and became fair game.

What would the reaction have been if that very same elephant had been killed by poachers or by irate villagers protecting their crops?

Do the Kenyan authorities pay the Tanzanian villagers compensation for crop destruction or human injury?

Just curious.

There is another old saying, just because you have the right to do something does not necessarily make it the right thing to do. Seems apropos.

Has anyone said that the offtake was unsustainable or is it just that the “known and named” elephant is the issue?

If it is that the ambroseli herd needs to be specifically protected, give the scientific rationale and restrict quota.

I certainly can see Tanzania adding an additional trophy fee for over 100# bulls.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
Has anyone said that the offtake was unsustainable or is it just that the “known and named” elephant is the issue?

If it is that the ambroseli herd needs to be specifically protected, give the scientific rationale and restrict quota.

I certainly can see Tanzania adding an additional trophy fee for over 100# bulls.

No shortage of elephants in Amboseli...it is the big tusker issue. Also, eventually ALL of these big tuskers die one way or another. As long as there are more "Super Tuskers" in the pipeline all should be well.

Baxter,

What would you propose to tell the family of the young girl who was killed by elephant while I was there in 2017?

quote:

The result would have been the same: authorities trying to prevent more killing. People like Richard Bohnam would have engaged the community to convince them not to take their grievances out on the elephant and yes, likely cash would have been disbursed to help the situation and to incentivized the locals against killing.

That would likely be applicable to the Kenyans as I have reservations Richard Bonham has such a legal jurisdiction on Tanzanian soil.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
Baxter,

What would you propose to tell the family of the young girl who was killed by elephant while I was there in 2017?

If the blame was directed at the Amboseli elephants the Kenyans would deny it and demand proof that it was one of "their" elephants.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
Baxter,

What would you propose to tell the family of the young girl who was killed by elephant while I was there in 2017?

the reality is that a tragedy like that is akin to a 17-year-old kid being killed by a drunk driver - what do we tell their family? Do we ban cars? Ban booze? No, we understand that these things are controllable to an extent and we try to do so when possible, but at the end of the day, life carries risk. Bad things happen to good people - it's part of the human condition.

You can't make the argument that hunting elephant is necessary to maintain a healthy herd or habitat, then turn right around and when one of those healthy elephant kills someone say, "We should have shot that one too." That leaves us (and the elephant) nowhere. Was the elephant that killed the girl on license? Was it just dumb luck THAT one wasn't hunted?

I don't see a connection between the lack of wisdom in killing an elephant that was apparently part of a studied group (that anyone who had the slightest interest in the welfare of elephant in Tanzania or Kenya should have been aware of), and the incident of which you speak, and of which have no idea of the circumstances.

There is a good movie called The Hunter Legacy that features J.A. Hunter's grandson Alex. It is largely about wildlife conservation in southern Kenya from Tsavo up to about ol Pejeta. Big Life is featured, as is Tsavo Trust. They talk to the family of a guy who was killed by an elephant on his way to work - he was a ranger for Big Life who was dedicated to protecting the elephant and rhino. The conversation is interesting.

So, what do we say in the midst of tragedy? I think those conversations are more alike than they are different.

Baxter, that was way more of an explanation than the ridiculous question warranted. Kudos.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

The result would have been the same: authorities trying to prevent more killing. People like Richard Bohnam would have engaged the community to convince them not to take their grievances out on the elephant and yes, likely cash would have been disbursed to help the situation and to incentivized the locals against killing.

That would likely be applicable to the Kenyans as I have reservations Richard Bonham has such a legal jurisdiction on Tanzanian soil.

Big Life's area:

That's what we need.

More hunters who are willing to give up the fight when they know and can easily demonstrate that they are right.

I hope that those engaging our adversaries on this "Amboseli elephant" issue are made of sterner stuff.

Crop protection fence?
Have not they been tried before?
I don’t know where this debate is going but the elephant offtake is so small it borders on ridiculous
The only ones I feel sorry for is the people trying to make living farming yet the antis don’t give a shit about them