http://allafrica.com/stories/201712180290.html



Tanzania: Hunting Permits Reduced to Stem Elephant Decrease

By Marc Nkwame in Arusha



FEEL like hunting? Then try other species because in efforts to save jumbos, the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) has reduced the number of elephant hunting permits issued per year.

"We are issuing only 100 elephant hunting licences per year," said Ms Nyangabo Violet Musika, the Officerin- Charge at Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA), during a media briefing session in Arusha, adding that the annual hunting season in the country runs between July and December.

A recently released wildlife census report indicated that there are 43,521 elephants in Tanzania, but as it seems 70,000 had been lost over the past six years, prompting TAWA to initiate spirited control measures.

The Officer-in-charge explained further that, TAWA which manages all game reserves in the country currently totalling 18, collected 80 per cent of wildlife-related revenues from hunting concessions and 20 per cent of earnings are generated from photographic safaris.

"But 65 per cent of all earnings are sent back to the local villages surrounding game reserves. TAWA gets only 20 per cent while the remaining 15 per cent is channelled into district council coffers," she explained, pointing out that the government has ensured that local residents got the lion's share of earnings raised from wildlife-related products. Reports indicate that Tanzania had around 110,000 jumbos by 2009, placing the country in the second position after Botswana, which by then had close to 150,000 elephants.



However, the number of trumpeting jumbos in Tanzania drastically dropped from over 100,000 five years ago to the current 45,000 average, indicating a loss of more than 60 per cent in the animals' population. About two years ago, the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), in conjunction with the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), conducted a special wildlife census targeting jumbos.

The 'Great Elephant Census' covered all of Tanzania's key elephant eco-systems as part of the initiative funded by Paul G. Allen to assess the current state of elephant populations across the African continent.

The Malagarasi-Muyovozi eco-system recorded the highest jumbo disappearance at 81 per cent, followed by Ruaha- Rungwa at 76 per cent and Selous-Mikumi with 66 per cent loss.

What a farce.

Like the safari industry had anything to do with yet another elephant poaching holecaust in TZ.

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Originally posted by Safari2:
What a farce.

Like the safari industry had anything to do with yet another elephant poaching holecaust in TZ.

+1

quote:

The Officer-in-charge explained further that, TAWA which manages all game reserves in the country currently totalling 18, collected 80 per cent of wildlife-related revenues from hunting concessions and 20 per cent of earnings are generated from photographic safaris.

The silver lining of this steaming turd--to bad the ignorant yahoos aren't likely to either notice or understand the significance of this statistic on the desired outcome of protecting elephants and other wildlife.

And, just how many of those 70,000 elephants were killed by sport hunters over the last six years? Total BS! Betcha those 'spirited control measures' will really make a difference-NOT!

I'm sure the point is they want to look like they are doing SOMETHING and cutting permits requires no real effort. Reducing the poaching would take money, manpower and will. I have to believe they have none of those three.

Mark

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Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
I'm sure the point is they want to look like they are doing SOMETHING and cutting permits requires no real effort. Reducing the poaching would take money, manpower and will. I have to believe they have none of those three.

Mark

Exactly Mark.

While at the same time they are doing absolutely nothing to stop poaching!

How ridiculous!

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"We are issuing only 100 elephant hunting licences per year," said Ms Nyangabo Violet Musika, the Officer in- Charge at Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA)

Those figures represent the available annual quota which I very much doubt would be fulfilled due to minimum length/weight requirements on the ivory.

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Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

"We are issuing only 100 elephant hunting licences per year," said Ms Nyangabo Violet Musika, the Officer in- Charge at Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA)

Those figures represent the available annual quota which I very much doubt would be fulfilled due to minimum length/weight requirements on the ivory.

Exactly!

In 15 years I have been hunting in Tanzania, I never saw a shootable bull!!

However, we have seen dozens of poached elephant carcasses!!

How come nothing is being done about it??

I would not be surprised if the officials that cut the permits turned out to be in the illegal Ivory trade, Ive seen worse...

I mean Edi Amean ran 20,000 elephants over the old land mines of his country and he sold the Ivory, and pocketed the money, except the cows and babies didn't have Ivory and he let them rot for the most part..

Africa isn't for the light of heart., its just Africa.

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I mean Edi Amean ran 20,000 elephants over the old land mines of his country and he sold the Ivory, and pocketed the money, except the cows and babies didn't have Ivory and he let them rot for the most part..

Is this some new guy in town as I've never heard of him?

Other than the tuskless examples, even females grow tusks; theirs being proportionately slender/lighter than those of a bull.

I think he means Idi Amin of Uganda.

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Originally posted by crbutler:
I think he means Idi Amin of Uganda.

Idi may have butchered 200,000 of his own people but the first I've heard of 20K elephant being marched over an area covered in landmines.


The only African state that was littered with landmines and still a scary place to tread would be some areas in Mozambique.