30 September 2008, 01:19
KathiTanzania: District to have a game park to save farmers from elephants
Tanzania: District to Have a Game Park
The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
29 September 2008
Posted to the web 29 September 2008
Daniel Mjema, Siha
Rombo district is soon to have a wildlife park to save local farmers from roaming elephants.
According to Kilimanjaro regional commissioner Mohammed Babu, the Government has budgeted for the reserve in the current financial year.
Farmers in Rombo, Hai, Siha, Mwanga and Same districts of Kilimanjaro have recently been complaining about marauding elephants that destroyed their crops.
At the weekend, the farmers told Mr Babu while commemorating 'World Elephant Day' at the Ndarakwai Ranch that they had already sought permission to kill stray animals on their farms.
But the RC said the problem would be solved once the reserve was set up.
"We will set up the game park in the district. This has been integrated in the ministry's 2008/9 budget," he said.
Some of the roaming elephants, the RC said, were escaping from the Kenyan Tsavo National Park.
He said the animals could not stay in the only reserve in Arusha, which was serving many areas.