Aircraft can’t frighten game, Bunge told
DailyNews Reporter
Daily News; Wednesday,July 25, 2007 @00:04

ORTTELLO Business Corporation (OCB), a wildlife hunting firm, has built an airstrip for its planes at Kishoshoroni in Serengeti National Park (SENAPA) because the area is close to its hunting block and there are no hills in the vicinity, the National Assembly heard yesterday.

Responding to Mr Kaika Telele (Ngorongoro - CCM), Deputy Minister for Infrastracture Development Maua Daftari said the landing of OCB light planes at Kishoshoroni does not frighten animals.

Mr Telele had wanted to know why the firm abandoned its landing strip at Mambarashani and built a new one at Kishoshoroni. He said the strip was located in the animal's migration corridor and that sound of planes and trucks could frighten the animals.

The deputy minister told the House that the Wildlife Department has landing strips that are located in corridors in the Serengeti and Seronera which has been in use for long but have never affected the behaviour of wild animals in the neighbourhood.

Dr Daftari said the presence of taking off or landing place has never terrified wild animals into straying into people's homes or changing habitat.

Animals migrate instinctively to seek pastures elsewhere during the dry season or at the onset of rains in August and December, she said. The deputy minister said the presence of rocky hills at Mambarashani, which were a threat to
landing planes, was another reason that forced OCB to move its strip to Kishoshoroni.

She said the change of location was sanctioned by respective village, district and regional authorities.

If aircraft frightens the animals, then the animals should not fly and should use ground transportation instead. Problem solved!

Here here!