BabuK
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- Jul 30, 2008
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Natural Resources and Tourism Minister, Lazaro Nyalandu
The government has scrapped all hunting licenses for the Green Miles Safaris Ltd for violating legislation and regulations governing wildlife conservation by hunting restricted wild animals in Selous Game Reserve.
The company is also accused of shooting female wildebeest and young buffalos.
Speaking with reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Lazaro Nyalandu said that after cross checking activities of Green Miles Safaris Ltd including breaching article 19 (1) (2) of the law on hunting safaris, which restricts hunting on animals that are not allowed in hunting, including birds and hyenas.
Nyalandu stated that the hunting company was also fielding non-professional hunters, thus breaching regulations governing wildlife conservation.
Using executive powers that I have, I announce from today that all hunting licenses for Green Miles Safaris Ltd are scrapped following breach of the legislation and regulations governing wildlife conservation, he said.
The Green Miles Safaris Ltd hunter used to hunt young animals, breaching article 56 (1) as well as allowing hunters below ages 18 on hunting activities, breaking article 43 (2) (a) of that legislation. With these reasons I announce abrogating all licenses belonging to their company, he declared.
He pointed out that it is prohibited for any foreign licensed firm to breach the countrys laws.
Our country including its natural resources belongs to Tanzanians. It is prohibited for any persons, group, company from any country to destroy the resources we have. Therefore with this order, the government has also put in the black list the directors of this company, he elaborated.
As this company breached the legislation and regulations governing wildlife conservation, we are also withdrawing all licenses they have in hunting at Lake Natron GC East, Gonabis/Kidunda-WMA and MKI-Selous, he stated.
Speaking with newsmen last week, Shadow Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Peter Msigwa asked the government to extensively probe all hunting companies in the country, saying some of the licensed firms were violating legislation and regulations governing wildlife conservation.
Msigwa, who is Iringa Urban MP (Chadema), said it was high time the government, through the ministry, went public on how much fine and charges it had collected from hunting companies that had infringed existing laws.
The opposition MP also challenged the minister responsible, Lazaro Nyalandu, to take action against officials in the ministry who he accused of failing to enforce the Wildlife Conservation Act of 2009 and the Wildlife Conservation (Tourist Hunting) Regulations of 2010.
The MP showed a video clip to journalists showing officials of Green Miles Safari breaching existing legislation and regulations on wildlife conservation in Selous Game Reserve. He said the hunting company has continued to operate unabated within the game reserve despite presentation of evidence to the government in regard to violations of laws, including wounding animals and chasing them by vehicles.
He also accused the company of allowing its clients to shoot at female wildebeest and young buffalos, among others, while Section 56 of the legislation prohibits hunting or killing young and female animals.
Section 50 (1) of the law forbids the capture of wild animals without a valid permit, in which case the Iringa Urban MP insisted that he had evidence to show that the hunting firm has been capturing zebra foals, young warthogs and black bellied bustards.
The hunting company has been allowing underage clients to hunt birds in Africa's largest wildlife sanctuary, in violation of Section 42 of the legislation which states that no person under the age of 18 would be allowed to hunt, the MP added.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
