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2009 tough year for poachers

By Arusha Times Reporters

Illegal hunting cases in Serengeti National Park have increased by seven per cent since 2002 but within this fiscal year alone a total of 1028 poachers were arrested.

“In the last seven years we have also managed to disable around 480,000 traps that were laid by illegal hunters targeting some species of animals but ending up killing both the intended and unintended wild animals,” Mr. Mtango Mtahiko the Chief Park Warden for Serengeti told a parliamentary committee that visited the area recently.

According to the Warden, each trap is capable of killing 40 animals and should the almost half-a-million traps perform as expected by poachers, it could have spelled worst disaster in the history of Northern Zone’s largest wildlife park.

The number of arrested suspects rose from 959 in the year 2002 up to over 1028 in this fiscal year.

“We have a total of 672 illegal hunting cases going on in court at the moment but the problem is that most of the accused get acquitted or let off the hook on minor penalties,” explained Mr. Mtahiko adding that over 35 hunting rifles, five traditional guns and close to 1000 rounds of ammunition were also impounded during recent anti-poaching operations.

Ilemela MP Anthony Diallo, proposed that National Parks should start training their own case prosecutors so as to give more seriousness to wildlife related issues specifically poaching, which, as far as he is concerned, are never given much importance in courts of law because ordinary magistrates treat them simply as 'man killing animal issues,'

On a more positive note, however, the Warden assured that none of the existing endangered Black Rhino species, currently numbering at 23 have ever been under any poaching threat. “The rare mammals have reproduced from just six in 1995 to 23 this year and we expect 32 more that will soon be flown in from South Africa”, the warden stated.

With an average visitors’ traffic of 280,000 per year, Serengeti’s 30,000 square kilometers of vast savannah plains pumped over 21billion/- into the national coffers in the last fiscal year. On average the park raises some 25billion/- per year.

Serengeti, established as a game reserve in 1929, was protected from hunting in 1940. It was upgraded to National Park Status in 1951.