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Tanzania: Wildlife Firm Loses Hunting Block Rights Injunction
BY FAUSTINE KAPAMA, 30 DECEMBER 2013



THE High Court, Commercial Division, has dismissed with costs an application for injunction lodged by a wildlife conservation and tour firm operating in Tanzania, Wengert Windrose Safaris (Tanzania) Limited (Wengert), over allocation of hunting blocks.

In the application, Wengert had sought for orders restraining the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism from evicting him and taking possession of hunting block namely Lake Natron Game Controlled Area (North-South) also known as Lake Natron Game Controlled Area (East).

The company had also sought for orders, forcing the minister to issue necessary hunting permits to allow them to continue with the hunting and conservations.

Such orders had been sought pending hearing of the main suit involving the matter. "I am satisfied that I have endeavoured to demonstrate that the application cannot be granted because the conditions for granting an injunctive relief have not been met.

I therefore dismiss this application with costs," said in his ruling. The judge ruled that the application failed to meet the tests and principles for granting an injunction as there were no enough materials to show that the applicant company would suffer irreparable loss if the order sought would not be granted.

Other respondents in the application were Attorney General (AG) and Green Miles Limited (Green), another company engaged in hunting block business. In the main suit, Wengert is asking the court to declare that he is a licensee and therefore, in lawful occupation of the hunting block.

He further seeks for declaration that the minister purported name change and reallocation of the plaintiff (Wengert) the allocated hunting block to Lake Natron Game Controlled Area North is illegal and null and void.

The plaintiff is also asking the court to declare that the minister's purported name change of the block known and geographically described as Lake Natron Game Controlled Area (North-South) to Lake Natron Game Controlled Area (East) and the allocation of the same to Green is illegal and void.

On February 10, 2011, the minister published an advertisement in one of local newspaper, inviting tourist hunting operators like Wengert to make applications for hunting blocks for the period of July 1, 2013 to March 31, 2018.

It is alleged that at the material times prior to the advertisement, the plaintiff were licensees of a block known as Lake Natron Game Controlled Area North. Such block was bordered to the North by Kenya and to South by a block known as Lake Natron Game Controlled Area South.

The said plaintiff's block was also bordered to the West by Lake Natron itself and to the East by Longido GCA hunting block. The Lake Natron Game Controlled Area South block was bordered to the North by Lake Natron Game Controlled Area North block. However, the said block continued on the western shores of Lake Natron North and headed to the North to border Kenya.

In the application process, the plaintiff noted that the minister had advertised four hunting blocks in the Lake Natron Area instead of the previous existing two.

They were Lake Natron North and Lake Natron South, which were then divided into four new hunting blocks, namely Lake Natron Game Controlled Area North, Lake Natron Game Controlled Area North/ South, Lake Natron Game Controlled Area South and Lake Natron Game Controlled Area West.