Illegal game meat traders face legal action
DAILY NEWS Reporter
Daily News; Monday,May 05, 2008 @00:02


THE government has warned unscrupulous traders who engage in illegal game meat business reportedly growing countrywide that their days are numbered.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism’s Permanent Secretary Ms Blandina Nyoni stated that it was illegal under the Wildlife Conservation Act for anyone to deal or trade in fresh, cooked or dried bush-meat.

“Any person who will provide information or facilitate arrest and conviction of a person dealing in illegal harvesting, utilisation and trade of bush meat will be rewarded 10 per cent of the value of the animal fees in trophy or tourist hunting rate,†the statement quoted the PS as saying.

Ms Nyoni also said that currently illegal trade in game meat was being conducted in various parts of the country in premises including local and tourists’ hotels, lodges and camps, restaurants, cafes, bars, local brew joints, guest houses and homes.

In the list she also named butcheries, retail and wholesale food shops, make-shift food stalls, open markets as well as offices and saloons.

The government has also alerted the public to be cautious with several strategies used to market the illegal business including advertisements on menus, packaging in small plastic bags and processing in beef canning factories.

In elaboration, the ministry also warned that any person dealing in the harvesting or utilisation of wild life games without a hunting licence or trade in bush-meat in any form is liable to prosecution.

Meanwhile, some public health officers and experts who spoke to this newspaper confirmed that ‘bush-meat poses a risk to human health.’


They said that the meat was host to many deadly diseases that have already been confirmed to spread from the animals to man time and again.


The experts named some of the diseases as ebola and monkey pox amongst others.

The Mulla family owners of Usangu Safaris, Francolin Safaris and the former owners of TAWICO trade in bushmeat taken off their concessions.

Jeff

With all the meat trade they do..... Atleast they should pay their staff. Which they haven`t for the last 5 years..........

quote:

Originally posted by simbamoja:
With all the meat trade they do..... Atleast they should pay their staff. Which they haven`t for the last 5 years..........

I understand that certain America outfitters don't pay their staff for a long time too!

This despite collecting the money well in advance of a hunt.

Simba,
I hear you........fortunately, that has come to a stop when they sold TAWICO. The suspect "cropping permit" they had was issued to TAWICO and was sold along to the new management who have returned it to WD.

Bwana, do you have knowledge they are still doing this today?

Saeed, who?

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanamich:
Simba,
I hear you........fortunately, that has come to a stop when they sold TAWICO. The suspect "cropping permit" they had was issued to TAWICO and was sold along to the new management who have returned it to WD.

Bwana, do you have knowledge they are still doing this today?

Saeed, who?

I have been asked not to mention names right now.

I am hoping they will get the message, as the ones I am talking about do visit AR.

They employ PHs in Africa to guide their clients, and not pay them for quite some time afterwards.

This despite the fact the clients they have guided have paid well in advance for that services.

Mich,

Last confirmed 06.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Bunduki:
Mich,

Last confirmed 06.

If it was early '06 i.e. before the hunting season, i can believe that as that was when they were still undergoing sale to new management. I believe they are no longer doing so.

TAWICO used to be a parastatal and controlled all hunting concessions in tanzania until the mid to late 80"s when they then allowed private operators to enter the industry as they realized they could not run it. Being a Gov dpt, they were the only company that had a cropping permit which they severely abused for many years. The sale of TAWICO to current management was the best thing that happened in the Tz hunting industry for a long time

These people should be taken of the hunting Industry...they are the most unethical hunters you can come across..