Hunting

The first professional hunters came in 1913. They found the wildlife plentiful, especially the lions, but saw no elephants. Seven years later, an American arrived in a strange new contraption known as a Ford motor-car and news of the wonders of the Serengeti had reached the outside world. Because the Hunting of lions made them so scarse (they were considered 'vermin'), it was decided to make a partial Game Reserve in the area in 1921 and a full one in 1929. With the growing awareness of the need for conservation, it was expanded and upgraded to a National Park in 1951. Eight years later the Ngorongoro Conservation Area was established in the south-east as a separate unit.

It is safe to say that Tanganyika holds a front place among our East African Colonies for the number and variety of its game animals. The belt from Tanga through to Lake Victoria is where game is most numerous. There is an abundance of the commoner antelope, and in certain parts the rarer species such as the Greater and Lesser Kudu, Gerenuk, etc., are still fairly plentiful. Big game like the Elephant, Rhinocerous, Lion and Buffalo, all of which hold for the hunter a new thrill and experience, are to be found in this area in such a variety of country and cover that the Hunting of no two animals is ever alike.

Here the hunter passes through most interesting country; Kilimanjaro with its snow-capped dome, running streams and dense forests, across the plains to the Natron Lakes and the Great Rift Wall with its volcanic formation and on to the great Crater, Ngorongoro. In his travels he will come into contact with some of the most interesting and picturesque tribes that inhabit Africa such as the Masai, Wambulu, etc., each with their own quaint customs and histories.

The Ngorongoro Crater, the greatest crater in the world, measuring approximately 12 miles in diameter, seen from the Mbulu side, is a delight to the eye with its teeming herds of game ; Wildebeest alone running into tens of thousands. This scene conveys to one the idea of a great National Park. Nature has provided the crater with a precipitous rock fence for tns most part and with lakes and streams to slake the thirst of the great game herds which inhabit it. The unalienated part of the crater is now a complete game reserve in which a great variety of game is to be found such as Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, Lion, and all the smaller fry. The Elephant although not in the crater is to be found in the forests nearby.

The Serengetti Plains lying away to the northwest of the crater holds its full share of animal life and here the sportsman has the widest possible choice of trophies. The Lion in this area holds full sway and is still to be seen in troops of from ten to twenty. Recently, Serengetti and Lion pictures have become synonymous. The commoner species of game are here in abundance and the plains are second only to the crater for game concentration. The country lying between the Grumeti River - Orangi River and the Mbalangeti from Lake Victoria to the Mou-Kilimafetha Road has recently been declared a game reserve.

Game animals that inhabit the northern area are well protected an'd their existence is assured to posterity by the great game sanctuaries and regulations which govern the Hunting or photographing of game.

In the Northern area there are six complete reserves and two closed areas. These are as follows:

(1) Kilimanjaro.

(2) Mount Meru.

(3) Lake Natron

(4) Northern Railway.

(5) Ngorongoro.

(6). Serengetti.

The closed areas are :

Pienaar's Heights, near Babati and Sangessa Steppe in the Kondoa district. The boundaries for these are laid down in the Game Preservation Ordinance No. 41 of 1921. There are, however, vast areas open to the hunter and the abovementioned sanctuaries do not in any way detract from the available sport which the Northern Tanganyika has to offer.

The following game licences are now in force (Shillings)

:Visitor's Full Licence - 1500

Visitor's Temporary Licence (14 days) - 200

Resident's Full Licence - 300

Resident's Temporary Licence (14 days) - 60

Resident's Minor Licence - 80

Giraffe Licence - 150

Elephant Licence 1st. - 400

2nd. - 600

To hunt the Black Rhinoceros in the Northern Province it is now necessary to hold a Governor's Licence, the fee for which is 150/-. This entitles the holder to hunt one male Rhinoceros. Elephant, Giraffe, and Rhinoceros Licences may only be issued to holders of full game licences.

Now that the Railway is through to Arusha it is not too much to hope that with the assistance of a healthy public opinion the Sanya Plains may become restocked with game which would be a great source of interest and an attraction to the traveller visiting these parts.

This scan from Dale. Photo is probably from MK. Origins of the photo unkown.

Safari Hunting in East Africa was forever changed by the masterly blueprint of Brian Nicholson, a former white hunter turned game warden. The disciple and successor of C.I. P. Ionides, the "Father of the Selous game reserve," Nicholson conceived a plan for administering Tanzania's expansive wildlife regions. In 1965 he changed most of the vast former controlled Hunting areas, or CHAs, into Hunting concessions that could be leased by outfitters from the government for two or more years at a time. Nicholson also demarcated the Selous game reserve's 20,000 square miles of uninhabited country into 47 separate concessions. Concessions were given a limited quota of each game species, and outfitters were expected to utilize quotas as fully as possible, but not exceed them.

Nicholson's plan gave outfitters exclusive rights over Hunting lands, providing powerful incentives for concession holders to police their areas, develop tracks, airfields, and camps, and, most importantly, preserve the wild game. When the system was put into effect, it was the larger outfitting organizations - safari outfitters who could muster the resources to bid and who had a clientele sufficient to fulfill the trophy quotas Nicholson had set (done in order to provide government revenue by way of fees for anti-poaching operations, development, and research) - that moved quickly to buy up the leases on the most desirable blocks of land. Smaller safari companies who could not compete on their own banded together and formed alliances so that they, too, could obtain Hunting territories.

By the end of 1973 Kenya was the sole remaining tourist destination in East Africa. While the neighboring country of Uganda was still in the throes of military anarchy, Tanzania surprised the world on September 7 by issuing an overnight ban on all Hunting and photographic safaris within its territory. Government authorities moved quickly to seize and impound foreign-registered Land Cruisers, supply trucks, minibuses, aircraft, and equipment.

The stunned collection of safari clients as well as sundry mountain climbers, bird-watchers, and beachcombers who had been visiting the country at the time of the inexplicable edict were summarily escorted to Kilimanjaro airport outside of Arusha to await deportation. The residue of tourists stranded without flights were trucked to the northern town of Namanga where they were left on the dusty roadside to cross into Kenya on foot. All tourist businesses, including the government-owned Tanzania Wildlife Safaris, were closed down. No government refunds were ever made to tourists or to foreign or local safari outfitters

Frequent acrimony, currently depicting the relationship between game Hunting companies and rural communities in Tanzania, will be a thing of the past after the government adopts a new wildlife policy.

Designated as wildlife management areas, the communities will benefit from the spoils of game Hunting, presently paid to local authorities by companies operating in those areas.

The proposed policy seeks to amend Tanzania's obsolete Wildlife Act of 1975, and, according to the natural resources and tourism minister, Zakia Meghji, 'it is of utmost priority and should be tabled before parliament for debate soon'.

She said the government would repossess all Hunting blocks allocated to professional hunters and hand them over to respective local authorities.

In turn local governments, together with the communities, would be empowered to allocate the Hunting blocks to whichever company they prefer to do business with.

'Guidelines of the policy are ready and are just being fine-tuned,' she said.

Communities set to benefit from this policy are chiefly those bordering rich game controlled areas and parks. They include the Maasai, Ndorobo, Hadzabe, Bahi, Sianzu and Kimbu in northeastern Tanzania.

Members of these communities are often arrested by game wardens and fined for trespassing on game conservation areas. As a result, they have been extremely bitter about being denied access to wildlife resources, which they believe, naturally, belong to them.

Under the new policy, Meghji said, the government will ensure that people undertake increased wildlife management responsibilities and get benefits to motivate them in the conservation of wildlife resources.

KENYA COULD end up losing 80 per cent of its wildlife species in protected areas bordering Tanzania to hunters licensed by the Tanzanian government.

The hunters have been operating for about a decade in a section of the migratory route south from Kenya to Tanzania's Serengeti National Park.

They shoot large numbers of animals as they move into the park during the big zebra and wildebeest migration between July and December.

There are fears that the Maasai Mara National Park and most of Kenya's wildlife areas bordering Tanzania could lose much of their wildlife population, threatening the country's Ksh20 billion ($256 million) a year tourism industry.

Kenya banned Hunting in 1977 but the sport is legal in Tanzania, where it is sold as "Safari Hunting."

"The product sold is really the experience of tracking and killing animals, the services that go with this and the prestige of taking home the trophies," says a policy document from the Tanzania Wildlife Corporation (Tawico).

Tanzania wildlife officials said wild animals that cross over from Kenya are hunted along their migratory routes in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area in Ngorongoro district of Arusha region, 400 km northwest of Arusha. The area was designated by the British colonial power as a sports Hunting region for European royalty.

The officials said the area is now utilised by a top defence official from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), trading as Ortelo Business Company (OBC), through a licence issued in 1992 by former Tanzania President Ali Hassan Mwinyi. The permit allows the company to hunt wild game and trap and take some live animals back to the UAE.

Safari Hunting earns big money for the Tanzanian government, which charges each hunter $1,600 a day to enter the controlled area.

A hunter is also required to pay fees for each kill, with an elephant costing $4,000, a lion and a leopard $2,000 each and a buffalo $600. The document has no quotation for rhinos.

The sport is organised in expeditions lasting between one and three weeks in the five Hunting blocks of Lake Natron Game Controlled Area, Rungwa Game Reserve, Selous Mai, Selous U3 and Selous LU4.

For the period the hunters stay in each of the Hunting blocks, they pay between $7,270 and $13,170 each. Part of this money is shared out among the many Ujamaa villages, the local district councils and the central government.

Although Tawico restricts the number of animals to be culled by species, poor monitoring of the activities has meant indiscriminate killing of game.

"Some of the animals are snared and either exported alive or as meat and skins to the United Arab Emirates and other destinations," local community members told The EastAfrican during a recent trip to the area.

They claimed the hunters were provided with "blank Hunting permits," giving them discretion over the number of animals to be hunted down. Kenya wildlife conservation bodies are concerned that big game Hunting in the Ngorongoro area is depleting the wildlife that crosses the border from Kenya.

"Kenya is losing much of its wildlife to hunters licensed by the Tanzanian government," the chairman of the Maasai Environmental and Resource Coalition (MERC), Mr Andrew ole Nainguran, said. MERC was set up in 1999 to sensitise members of the Maasai community in Kenya and Tanzania to the benefits of wildlife conservation.

Kenya and Tanzania wildlife authorities have regularly discussed the problem of security and poaching in Arusha. However, the KWS acting director, Mr Joe Kioko, said legalised Hunting has never been discussed in any of the meetings.

The hunters are said to fly directly from the UAE to the area using huge cargo and passenger planes which land on an all-weather airstrip inside the OBC camp. The planes are loaded with sophisticated Hunting equipment, including four-wheel drive vehicles, weapons and communication gadgets.

On their way back, the planes carry a variety of live animals, game trophies and meat. Employees at the camp said the hunters are sometimes accompanied by young Pakistani and Filipino women.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare regional director, Mr Michael Wamithi, said Kenya and Tanzania should discuss the negative impact of the sport Hunting on Kenya's conservation efforts.

"The two neighbours have a Cross-Border Law Enforcement Memorandum of Understanding where such issues could be dealt with."

Kenya seems to be alone in adhering to strict protection of wildlife, a policy famously demonstrated by President Daniel arap Moi's torching of ivory worth $760,000 in 1989.

Although the country has made significant progress in securing parks from poachers, it is yet to embrace a policy on "consumptive utilisation" of animals advocated by Kenyan game ranchers and Zimbabwe, which wants the international trade ban on ivory lifted.

The animals in the Hunting block have been reduced to such an extent that the OBC camp management has been spreading salt and pumping water at strategic places to attract animals from Serengeti and the outlying areas.

"We will not have any animals left in the vicinity unless the Hunting is checked," a local community leader, Mr Oloomo Samantai ole Nairoti, said, arguing that the area's tourism economy was being jeopardised.

Mysterious fires in the area to the south of Serengeti have also forced animals to seek refuge in the Hunting blocks.

Locals said the camp is exclusively patronised by Arab visitors. The camp is usually under tight security by Tanzanian police.

The permit granted by Mr Mwinyi has raised controversy in Tanzania and was at one stage the subject of a parliamentary probe committee because members of UAE's royal family were not entitled to the Hunting rights in the country.

"Only presidents or monarchs are entitled to hunt in the area," an official said, adding that the UAE royal family had abused their permit by killing animals outside their given quotas or specified species.

The government revoked the licence in 1999 after realising that OBC was airlifting many wild animals to the Middle East, only to renew the permit in 2000. The current permit runs until 2005.

The withdrawal of the permit followed the recommendations of a 1994 parliamentary probe commission set up to "investigate the Hunting behaviour" of the UAE company.

Sources said permanent Hunting is prohibited in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area for fear of depleting animals from the four parks, which host the bulk of the region's tourist resorts.

The area is in a natural corridor where wild animals cross while roaming between the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Maasai Mara Game Reserve and Amboseli National Park in Kenya.

The late founding president of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, took to himself the powers to issue Hunting permits for Loliondo when Tanzania became independent in 1961, but he never granted any.

After obtaining the permit, the UAE hunters created Hunting blocks in the area covering over 4,000 sq km.

No other Hunting companies have been granted permits, the source said.

The UAE royal family has donated passenger aircraft to the Tanzania army and a number of vehicles to the Wildlife Division.

The 1974 Wildlife Act set up five categories of wildlife conservation areas.

These are national parks, game reserves, partial game reserve, open areas and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Hunting is prohibited in the national parks and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, but allowed in other areas during the seasonal Hunting period from July to December.

Additional reporting by Apolinari Tairo in Dar es Salaam

Loliondo GAME CONTROL AREA, Tanzania - At a dirt airstrip in rural Tanzania, a desert camouflaged cargo plane from the United Arab Emirates air force taxis up to pallets stacked with large coolers full of game meat, the harvest of a successful Hunting season.

As Tanzanian immigration and customs officials fill out documents under a thatched shelter, brand-new, four-wheel-drive trucks and dune buggies drive to and from a nearby luxury campsite, the base for one of Tanzania's most expensive - and secretive - game Hunting operations, Otterlo Business Corp.

Hundreds of members of Arab royalty and high-flying businessmen spend weeks in the Loliondo Game Control Area each year Hunting antelope, lion, leopard and other wild animals. The area is leased under the Otterlo name by a member of an emirate royal family who is a senior officer in the UAE defense ministry.

While neighboring Kenya outlawed big game Hunting in 1978, the Tanzanian government says Hunting is the best use of the land and wildlife. But villagers and herders say big money has led government officials to break all the Hunting rules, resulting in the destruction of most of the area's non-migratory animals and putting East Africa's most famous national parks under threat.

Loliondo is on the main migratory route for wildlife north of Ngorongoro Crater, east of Serengeti National Park and south of Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve. The summer Hunting season coincides with the migration of wildebeest and zebra through the area, where they eventually cross into the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. Predatory animals follow the migration.

During the colonial era, Loliondo was set aside for European royalty as a Hunting area. Since independence, Loliondo has remained a Hunting reserve, but it is supposed to be managed by area residents for their benefit.

Local leaders, who refuse to speak publicly because they fear retribution, say they have not been consulted about the lease that was granted in 1995 by national officials in Tanzania's political capital, Dodoma. They say government officials have tried to silence criticism.

"The lease was given by the government and the Maasai landowners were not involved," said one Maasai leader. "All the resident animals have been killed ... (now) they carry out Hunting raids in the Serengeti National Park, but the government closes its eyes."

Maasai warriors told The Associated Press that hunters give cash to anyone who can lead them to big game, especially leopards. They also said that Otterlo officials have begun pumping water into some areas to attract more animals and that what the warriors call suspicious fires in the Serengeti have caused animals to move into Loliondo.

An Otterlo manager, who gave his name only as Khamis, initially agreed to an interview with AP but later did not return repeated phone calls.

In an interview with the newspaper, The East African, Otterlo managing director Juma Akida Zodikheri said his company adheres to Tanzanian law, and he denied hunters killed animals indiscriminately. He said the owner of the company is Maj. Gen. Mohammed Abdulrahim al Ali, deputy defense minister of the UAE.

While Tanzania has strict rules on game Hunting, Maasai who have worked at the lodge say guests are never told of the limits and hunt as much as they want. Tanzanian officials deny that.

Col. A.G.N. Msangi, district commissioner for Ngorongoro District, said all applicable rules are enforced. He accused the Maasai of rumor-mongering in an effort to discredit Otterlo.

The company "is following the system the government wants," Msangi said. "OBC has invested more money here than any other company in the district."

Msangi said Hunting companies request permission to kill a certain number of animals. Once the request is approved by wildlife experts at the Ministry of the Environment, the company pays a fee based on that number whether they actually kill the animals or not, he said.

"We have police and ministry people making sure they don't exceed what they have paid for," Msangi said. The tourists are also required to employ professional hunters to ensure no female or young animals are killed, he added.

Compared to the numbers in Serengeti National Park, very few large animals were seen during a three-hour drive through Loliondo. But without any independent survey of the animal population, it is impossible to know whether Msangi's conservation efforts are working.

Msangi described his main duty as balancing the needs of people, animals and conservation. He said not only does Hunting revenue finance wildlife conservation, but Otterlo, like most tourism companies, also makes charitable donations to help pay for schools and development projects and it provides badly need jobs.

Posted - April 16 2002 : 20:53:22

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1.0 INTRODUCTION:

The East African Newspaper of 4-10 February 2002 carried an article titled "Game Carnage in Tanzania Alarms Kenya", written by John Mbaria with supplement information from Apolinari Tairo of Dar es Salaam. The article was on The Ortello Business Hunting Company, which started to hunt in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area in 1992.

The following are issues raised in the article:

a) Hunting activities carried out in Liliondo Game Controlled Area near the Tanzania / Kenyan border causes loses of 80% of the Kenyan wildlife.

b) Hunting is conducted in the migratory route in the south between Kenya and Serengeti National Park. The animals are hunted during the migratory period as they move to Kenya and on their way back to Tanzania in July to December.

c) Hunting is threatening the Kenyan tourism industry, which earns the country USD 256.0 annually.

d) The Hunting kills animals haphazardly, without proper guidance and monitoring of actual number of animals killed and exported outside the country.

e) Airplanes belonging to Ortello Business Corporation (OBC) carry unspecified type of live animals and birds from Loliondo on their way back to UAE. Further more, the air planes fly directly in and out of Loliondo without stopping at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA).

The following are responses to the issues raised:

2.0 Conservation of wildlife in Tanzania

Tanzania is among the top ten countries in the world rich in biodiversity. Tanzania is also leading in wildlife conservation in Africa. It has 12 National Parks, including the famous Serengeti National Park, 34 Game Reserves and 38 Game Controlled Areas. The wildlife �protected areas cover 28% of the land surface area of Tanzania. In recognition of the good conservation works, Tanzania was awarded a conservation medal in 1995 by the Safari Club International whose headquarters is in the United States of America.

Tanzania has a number of important endangered animal species in the world. Such animal species are: Black Rhino, Wild Dog, Chimpanzee, Elephant and Crocodile (Slender Snorted Crocodile).

In 1998, the Government of Tanzania adopted a Wildlife Policy, which gives direction on conservation and advocate sustainable use of wildlife resources for the benefit of the present and future generations.

3.0 Tourist Hunting

Regulated tourist Hunting or any other type of Hunting that observes conservation ethics does not negatively affect wild animal populations. This is because Hunting ethics is based on selective Hunting and not random shooting of animals. Hunting was banned in Tanzania from 1972 to 1978. The resultant effect was increased poaching and reduced government revenue from wildlife conservation. Low revenue caused low budgetary allocations to wildlife conservation activities and the lack of working gear and equipment. When the tourist Hunting resumed Elephant population increased from 44,000 (in 1989) to 45,000 (in 1994). Elephant is a keystone species in the Hunting industry and is a good indicator in showing population status of other animal species in their habitat.

In 1989 to 1993 the government revenue from the Hunting industry increased from USD 2,422,500.00 to USD 7,377,430.00. The government earned a total of USD 9.3 Million from tourist Hunting in the year 2002. Increased revenue and keystone species such as Elephant are the results of efficient implementation of good plans and policies in conservation and sustainable use of wildlife resources.

4.0 Response to the issues raised in the article

4.1 Hunting against the law by OBC

OBC is one of the 40 Hunting companies operating in Tanzania. The Company belongs to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Different from other Hunting companies, OBC does not conduct tourist Hunting business. The Kingdom of UAE has been the client Hunting in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area since 1992.

In conducting Hunting in Loliondo Game Controlled Area, the Company adhere to the law and regulations governing the tourist Hunting industry, namely:

4.1.1 Payment of concession fee amounting to USD 7,500.00 per Hunting block per year.

4.1.2 Requesting for a Hunting quota from the Director of Wildlife, before issuance of Hunting permit.

4.1.3 Payment of game fees as stipulated by the Government.

4.1.4 Hunting only those animals shown in the Hunting permit.

4.1.5 Contributing to the development of the Hunting block, local communities� development projects and anti-poaching activities.

The following is what OBC has done so far:

� Contribution towards the development of the Ngorongoro District of USD 46,000.00

� Construction of Waso Primary and Secondary Schools, six bore holes and cattle dips and has purchased two buses to enhance/local transportation. Furthermore, OBC contributed TSh. 30.0M to six villages in the Hunting area, for providing secondary school education to 21 children.

� Purchased a generator and water pump worth TSh. 11.0M for provision of water to six villages. It has also constructed all weather roads and an airstrip within Loliondo area.

4.1.6. Different from the rest of the Hunting companies OBC Hunting period is very short. Normally the Hunting season lasts for six months, but OBC hunts for a maximum of four months. Few animals are shot from the Hunting permit.

4.2 Animals hunted in migratory routes.

The Government of Tanzania has permitted Hunting in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area and not in the migratory route between Masai Mara and Serengeti National Park. The Loliondo Game Controlled Area is a plain bordering the Serengeti National Park to the east.

4.3 The right for Tanzania to use wildlife in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area

The wildlife found in Tanzania is the property of the Government of Tanzania. The notion that these animals belong to Kenya is not correct. The wild animals in Loliondo Game Controlled Area do not have dual citizenship . Since some animal species move back and forth between Tanzania and Kenya it is better understood that these animals would be recognised to belong to either party during the time they are in that particular country. Animals in Masai Mara, Serengeti, Loliondo and Ngorongoro belong to one ecosystem namely, Serengeti ecosystem. However, Tanzania being a sovereign State with her own policies has the right by law to implement them. The same applies to Kenya, which has the right to implement its no-Hunting policy basing on the administration of her laws. Tanzania has therefore, not done anything wrong to undertake Hunting on her territory.

4.4 Hunting is threatening Kenyan tourism

Migratory animals move into Kenya during the rainy season. After the rainy season they move back to Tanzania. Animals that are hunted in Liliondo Game Controlled Area during this time of the year are very few. In the year 2000, only 150 animals were hunted, and in the year 2001 only 139 animals were hunted. It is therefore, not true that 80% of the animals in the border area were hunted. Based on this argument, it is also not true that Hunting conducted by OBC is threatening the Kenyan tourism industry. Tanzania does not allow Hunting of elephants 10 kilometres from the Tanzania/Kenya international boundary. (CITES meeting held at the Secretariat Offices in Geneva in 1993). This is an example of the measures taken to control what was erroneously referred to by the East African Paper as �haphazard Hunting of animals of Kenya�.

Furthermore, it is not true that the Wildlife Division does not know the number of animals that are killed. Control of Hunting is done by the Wildlife Division, District Council and other Law Enforcement agencies. The OBC does not capture and export live animals since it does not possess valid licence to do so.

4.5 OBC airplances export assorted number of live animals from Loliondo to UAE

Capture and export of live animals and birds is conducted in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act No. 12 of 1974 and resolutions of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The live animal trade is also conducted in accordance with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations, with regard to the size of the boxes/containers allowed to transport specific animal species in order to avoid injuries or death of the same. The principle behind the live animal trade is sustainability. CITES may prohibit exportation of animals whose trade is not sustainable. On these grounds it is obvious that CITES and therefore, its 150 members recognise that the Tanzanian live animal trade is sustainable.

Live animal traders who exports animals, birds and other live specimens are obliged to adhere to the following procedure:

i) Must hold valid licence to trade on live animals.

ii) Must hold a capture permit and thereafter an ownership permit./certificate. The number of animals possessed and the number of animals listed on the ownership permit must be consistent with the number of animals that were listed in the capture permit and actually captured and certified.

iii) Must obtain an export permit for animals listed on the ownership permit/certificate.

iv) The Officer at the point of exit must certify that the animals exported are those listed on the certificate of export. The number of animals to be exported must tally with the number listed on the certificate of export.

Verification of exported animals is conducted in collaboration with the police and customs officials.

v) The plane that will carry live animals is inspected by the Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro Handling Companies� Officials.

vi) For animals listed under CITES, appropriate export and import certificates are used to export the said specimens. If there is any anomaly in exporting CITES species, the importing country notifies CITES Secretariat, which in turn notifies the exporting country, and the animals in question are immediately returned to the country of export.

4.6 Other specific isues

4.6.1 Hunters are given blank permits

Companies are issued Hunting quotas before they commence Hunting activities. Each hunter is given a permit, which shows the animals that he/she is allowed to hunt depending on the quota issued and the type of safari. There are four types of safari Hunting as follows: 7, 14, 16 and 21 days safari. Each Hunting safari indicates species and numbers of animals to be hunted. When an animal is killed or wounded the officer in-charge overseeing Hunting activities signs to certify that the respective animal has been killed. If the animal has been wounded, the animal is tracked down and killed to ensure that no other animal is killed to replace the wounded animal at large. This procedure is a measure of monitoring of animals killed by hunters.

4.6.2 Good Neighbourhood Meetings between Tanzania and Kenya

There are three platforms on which Tanzania and Kenya meet to discuss conservation issues as follows:

a) The Environment and Tourism Committee of the EAC.

b) The Lusaka Agreement. In the Lusaka Agreement Meeting conservation and anti-poaching matters amongst member countries are discussed. The HQ of the Lusaka Agreement is in Nairobi.

c) Neighbourhood meeting. Experts in the contiguous conservation areas meet to discuss areas of cooperation between them, for example, in joint anti-poaching operations. Based on the regulations that govern the Hunting industry animals are not threatened by extinction since the animals that are hunted are old males for the purpose of obtaining good trophies. Trophies are attractions in this Hunting business. It is on this basis that tourist Hunting is not discussed in the said meetings, because is not an issue for both countries.

4.6.3 OBC airplanes flies directly to and from Loliondo without passing through KIA

The Tanzania Air Traffic Law requires that all airplanes land at KIA before they depart to protected areas. When the airplanes are at KIA and DIA the respective authorities conduct their duties according. The same applies when airplanes fly to UAE. They are required to land at KIA in order to go through immigration and customs checks. The allegation that OBC airplane does not land in KIA is therefore false. Furthermore, Tanzania Air Traffic Control regulates all airplanes includingly, OBC airplane at entry points.

4.6.4 OBC sprays salt in some parts of the Loliondo Game Controlled Area in order to attract animals from Serengeti National Park.

These allegations are baseless since the Tourist Hunting Regulations (2000) prohibit distribution of water and salt at the Hunting site in order to attract animals for Hunting. Besides the Game Scouts who supervise Hunting had never reported this episode. Furthermore, there are no reports that OBC is responsible for wild fires that gutters the south of the Serengeti National Park.

4.6.5 Cancellation of OBC block permit in 1999 since it was involved in the exportation of live animals.

This allegation is not true. The truth is that Hunting blocks are allocated to Hunting companies after every five years. The allocation that was done in 1995 expired in 1999. The next allocation was done in year 2000 and the companies will use the allocated blocks until 2004.

4.6.6 The UAE Royal Family contributions to the Wildlife Division

This is true. The Wildlife Division had received support from the UAE including: vehicles, transceivers and field gear in 1996. This was part of the fulfilment of the obligation by all Hunting companies to contribute towards conservation and anti-poaching activities.

Conclusion:

Records in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism show that there is no other District in Tanzania with Hunting area, other than Ngorongoro District, that receives enormous funds from Hunting business for community development. OBC contributes up to TSh. 354,967,000.00 annually for community development in Loliondo.

The Government of Tanzania has no reasons to stop the Hunting activities in Loliondo Game Controlled Area. The government sees that local communities and the Ngorongoro District Council benefit from the Hunting industry.

Edited by - lifer on 04/16/2002 20:57:41

A rejoinder to the Ministry�s press release on Loliondo and OBC

We are replying in a critical analysis to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism Press Release in the East African paper of April 1-7 2002 regarding the "Game Carnage in Tanzania Alarms Kenya" in the same paper (East Africa February 4-10 2002). Special reference was given to Hunting activities by OBC and our analysis base to same Company.

As it appears in the Press Release, OBC is the property of the UAE, but in reality some top influential people in Tanzania have some shares in the company. The OBC has been in Loliondo since 1992, even though ever since the whole local community in Loliondo refused to accept its presence and goes to the present day. OBC, to us, is not a normal Hunting company. It seems as if the Company has the right of ownership over land and other natural resources like water and wildlife. OBC has constructed expensive and luxurious houses, airstrip and big godowns on water source without the local people�s authority while they depend on such water for dry season grazing. Our surprise is that the government has always denied this fact and defended the Company. Why? The Company may be adhering to regulations and laws governing the tourist Hunting business in the books only and not practically. There are no monitoring schemes to make sure that the Company adheres to the said regulations.

It is true that OBC contributes 30 million to six villages, which is 5 million per village, and it was initially 2.5 million per village. The amount was raised two years ago. The issue here is that the amount was determined by OBC alone and therefore paid when they feel like doing, no binding mechanisms to endure payment on regular basis. The former OBC director was once quoted as saying, "I am paying this money as this money as a goodwill only because the government does not wish me to do so". The amount however does not compensate or match the resources extracted from the land of six villages. The implication is that OBC has entered into agreement with the government only and not with the villages. The provision of education to 21 children as indicated the Press release, is basically not true or correct.

The 30 million is the annual goodwill contribution from OBC to the six villages and not purposely meant for education only. The plan to utilize this money is upon the villages themselves.

It is also true that OBC has constructed Wasso secondary school but not Wasso primary school. The secondary school, which was built for the six villages in which OBC operated and the whole of Ngorongoro district has been taken by the government thus limiting the number of children hailing from these villages and Ngorongoro district an opportunity to obtain education from the same school.

In regard to bore holes, there are only four known boreholes and all these are built in Wasso and Loliondo townships. There are no any boreholes existing in any of the six villages, except only that a water pump machine, which currently does not work, was purchased for Mondorosi hamlet (Kitongoji) of Soit-Sambu village. Again, there is no virtually any cattle dip that OBC did dig or rehabilitated in six villages as mentioned in the Press Release from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. The information that OBC purchased a generator and water pump worth 11million is to six villages for water provision is false and misleading. Most villages in Loliondo have water problems and it is impossible for a generator to sustain a single village leave alone six villages. No single village has received such service from OBC.

In regard to transport, the two buses were either bought or just brought as second hand vehicles. These buses are expensive to run and spares are not easily obtained. At present they are just grounded at Ngorongoro district workshop/garage. There was a time the councilors debated whether or not to sell because of difficult management. At present the people of Loliondo use an extremely old SM bus for transport.

Again in the aspect of transport, there are no all weather roads in Loliondo that OBC constructed as it was said the Press release. Roads in most parts of Loliondo are murramed roads and mostly were constructed by Ngongoro district council using money from TANROADS and not OBC.

It is indeed true that OBC Hunting period is very short. There is a lot that can happen in short period especially if the team of hunters is composed of professional hunters. Our concern here is the interference and interruptions that OBC causes to the life systems of the people in Loliondo. The Maasai cannot resume their grazing patterns and often are forced to move by OBC. Where should we graze our cattle while our grazing land is occupied and by the Hunting company and protected by the gun? In six villages of Loliondo, five operate non-consumptive tourism that gives them more earnings except one which is dominated by OBC. The villages can now send children to school, construct basic infrastructure like health centers, classrooms, teacher houses water supply and food security ultimately eradicating poverty. This is all done using the money from the non-consumptive tourism. The OBC constantly interrupts this system and agreement between in the villages saying that the villages have no right to operate such tourism on �his land�. Is it his or our land? The other major problem besides the Arabs is the constant reprimand from the government, as it discourages this kind of tourism business that benefits the local people in the villages more. We favour this kind of tourism because it does not disturb our normal pattern of life system. At the same time it does not kill wild animals, they just camp and go to the Serengeti Park. The allegations that OBC airplanes fly directly from Loliondo to UAE without passing KIA and whether it exports live animals have existed and many people have spoken and written about it. However, we cannot confirm anything about without much scrutiny. We do not know much now.

Also in the Press Release the spray of salt to attract animals was referred to. The distribution of water in a certain site to attract animals was applied sometime ago. We are sure of this as it happened some years ago. What we are not exact is whether the practice continues to the present day.

In the Press Release, the records in the Ministry show that OBC pays annually 354,967,000/= for community development in Loliondo? We have some reservations in regard to such records. First of all they are just records and anything can be written. Secondly, how is it that the Ministry has such records while we in Loliondo, the base of OBC operation, do not have?

Thirdly, where is the provision in the agreement that forces OBC to annually pay to the district such amount of money? It may be that the amount is used to be paid annually but to individuals only and not to the district as it said.

In its conclusion the Ministry sees no reason to stop Hunting activities in Loliondo simply because the local community and Ngorongoro district council benefit from the Hunting business. We strongly feel that there is every reason to stop the Hunting activities in Loliondo for several reasons. First, the local community did not consent to the granting of their land to the Hunting company to the present day.

Secondly, the local community and Ngorongoro district council do not benefit in a way it should be from this Hunting business in Loliondo.

Thirdly, the presence of OBC has interrupted and interfered with our life systems including grazing, culture and other alternative means of business to the local community.

In our conclusion we feel that even though the government operates under the law set in Dar es Salaam and Dodoma without the involvement of the local people, it is very important to respect the localpeople.

Someone in the ministry who has never been to Loliondo, we firmly conclude, either wrote the Press Release, or the story was made. We suggest that the villagers or OBC people be contacted for more definite facts. Please feel free to contact us for any queries you might have regarding this article.

Yannick Ndoinyo

Dismas Meitaya.

Loliondo.

=====

Yannick Ndoinyo

P.O.Box 15111

Arusha Tanzania

E-mails: mukanick@yahoo.com

ndoinyoyannick@hotmail.com

landlife@uccmail.co.tz

Tel: 0744 390 626

The Hunting plot controversy reigning within the Longido Game Controlled Area in Monduli district two weeks ago threatened the life of the American ambassador to Tanzania, Robert Royall who was Hunting in the block .

Riding in a Toyota Land Cruiser Station Wagon with registration numbers TZP 9016, owned by Bush Buck Safaris Limited, Ambassador Royall found himself being confronted by 16 armed men.

The incident took place on Saturday the 27th of July this year, at about 13.00 hours, in the Hunting block which is under the authority of Northern Hunting Enterprises Limited.

It is reported that, while Royall and his family were driving in the area, another vehicle, Land Cruiser with registration numbers TZP 3867, drove toward them and blocked them off.

Sixteen men, armed with traditional weapons including spears, machetes, doubled edged swords (simis) and clubs jumped out, ready for an attack.

However, both the ambassador, his team and driver Carlous Chalamila happened to be fully equipped and likewise drew their weapons.

Seeing modern weapons, the mob got frightened and decided to flee. But the ambassador�s driver, Chalamila followed them to find out what they wanted. Contacts were subsequently made with the wildlife department of the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources. Some wildlife officers were dispatched to the scene from Arusha and when they arrived, they found the attackers already gone.

Regional Police Commander for Arusha, James Kombe admitted that the incident did take place but declined comments on the issue. However, already five people have been arrested in connection with the incident, these are: Omar Mussa, David Bernard, Salimba Lekasaine, Kiruriti Ndaga and the only lady in the team, Nuria Panito Kennedy.

This week, Arusha Times learned that, the five suspects are out on bail.

Speaking by phone from Monduli, the Monduli District Commissioner (DC), Anthony Malle said there was indeed some controversy regarding the Hunting bloc of Longido Game Controlled Area (LGCA) in which two Hunting companies of Kibo Safaris and Northern Hunting Enterprises (T) Limited, were at logger heads.

Captain Malle added that, even the residents of the Singa village in the area, have been divided into two groups each supporting either companies.

The District Commissioner however, pointed out that only the Ministry will decide which of the two parties have the right to the 1,500 square kilometre Hunting bloc.

DC Malle also said that he and other district officials have already held various meetings to address the issue and together have signed an official letter which was sent to the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources in order for the office to settle the matter once and for all.

Efforts to contact both Kibo Safaris and Northern Hunting Enterprises ended in vain.

.. .. ..

Unlike in Kenya, the law in Tanzania promotes commercial wildlife utilisation activities such as safari Hunting and actually prohibits photographic tourism in areas declared as Hunting zones.

Under the WCA of 1974, the wildlife division can only regulate the capture, Hunting and commercial photography of wildlife.

The report adds that the director of wildlife can issue Hunting licences on village land, but he "does not have the power to give a hunter or Hunting company authority to hunt on village land without the permission of the village government."

On their part, the licensed persons are expected to seek the permission of the village government before engaging in any Hunting. However, reports indicate that the practice of safari Hunting has so far ignored this law. The report says that most Hunting companies put up facilities on village lands without the permission of the village government and the respective village assemblies.

The report gives the example of the Loliondo GCA, in Loliondo division of Ngorongoro district, where a Hunting company associated with a United Arab Emirates minister, "has built an airstrip and several large houses without the permission of the relevant village governments."

"Such actions are contrary to the VLA which, under section 17, requires any non-village organisation that intends to use any portion of the village land to apply for that land to the village council, which will then forward that application and its recommendation for approval or rejection to the Commissioner for Land."

In January, The EastAfrican published an exclusive story on the manner with which the Hunting company conducts Hunting activities in Loliondo.

.. .. ..

Indigenous Rights for Survival International

P.O. Box 13357

Dar Es Salaam.

E-mail: ndaskoi@uccmail.co.tz

Alternative E-mail: fighters@bushlink.com

02.01.2003

The President

The United Republic of Tanzania

P.O. Box 9120

Dar Es Salaam.

Ref. No.L/32.pipex.02.

If it pleases the Honourable President Benjamin Mkapa

Re: Stop the killing fields of Loliondo

I am a Tanzanian citizen, a strong believer in social justice. Under the same spirit I am the Co-coordinator of an informal group called Indigenous Rights for Survival International (IRSI). IRSI is a loose network of young people with an interest in public policy issues in Africa. We mainly discuss policy issues through emails communications and ultimately write articles in the press. IRSI as an entity takes no position on any of the discussed issues instead it simply stimulates, steers, and co-ordinates discussions and debates on public policy issues of members� interest.

Mr. President, I have all along believed that you can stop the crime against humanity being inflicted upon the people of Loliondo, Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region by a no less authority than the Government of Tanzania.

Mr. President, Loliondo Division is located in Maasai ancestral lands in the northern part of Tanzania along the common border with Kenya. It borders the Ngorongoro highlands to the south, Serengeti National Park to the west, and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya to the north. The Loliondo Game Controlled Area (LCGA) encompasses an estimated 4,000 sq km. There is no physical barrier separating the LGCA from other protected areas. It is a continuous ecosystem. LGCA was initially established in 1959 as a Game Reserve by the British colonialists under the then Fauna Conservation Ordinance, Section 302, a legal instrument the colonial authorities used to set aside portions of land for wildlife conservation. The legal status of the reserve was later changed to that of a Game Controlled Area to allow for commercial Hunting, a status that defines LGCA today and haunts its wildlife.

Mr. President, Loliondo forms an important part of the semi-annual migratory route of millions of wildebeests and other ungulates northward into the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and Amboseli National Park in Kenya between April and June, and returning southward later in the year. The survival of the Ngorongoro-Serengeti-Maasai Mara ecosystem and the wildlife it supports is linked to the existence of Loliondo and other surrounding communal Maasai lands in Tanzania and Kenya. Similarly, the survival of the Maasai people is dependent entirely upon the protection of their ancestral land for economic viability and cultural reproduction. Land to the Maasai is the foundation for their spirituality and the base for identity.

Mr. President, the people of Ngorongoro District in general and Loliondo Division in particular have suffered for a long time various established pains such as irrational grabbing of their ancestral land for �development�, tourism (consumptive and non-consumptive) and cultivation. While the people of Loliondo have lost much of their ancestral land to cultivation, the Government is evidently supporting private investors to further put Maasai pastoralists of Loliondo at a very awkward corner.

In 1992, the administration of the former president Ali Hassan Mwinyi granted the entire Loliondo Game Controlled Area (LGCA) as a Hunting concession to the Otterlo Business Corporation Ltd (OBC), a game-Hunting firm based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Government issued a 10-year Hunting permit, under the controversial agreement, to the Brigadier Mohammed Abdulrahim Al-Ali, believed to be a member of the royal family of the UAE, of Abu Dhabi in the UAE who owns (OBC). The grabbed land is a birthright land of thousands of villagers of Arash, Soitsambu, Oloipiri, Ololosokwan, Loosoito and Oloirien villages of Loliondo.

Mr. President, a Parliamentary Committee was formed to probe the Loliondo Gate saga. It revoked the dirty agreement. Strangely, a similar agreement was established.

In January 2000, OBC was granted another 5-year Hunting permit in the said area. As usual, without the villagers� consent. OBC constructed an airstrip. The villagers have been witnessing live animals being exported through the airstrip. OBC constructed structures near water sources. Hearing of the new permit, the Maasai sent a 13-men protest delegation to Dar Es Salaam in April 2000. The intention was to sort out the matter with you Mr. President. Unfortunately, they did not see you.

However, the delegation managed to hold a press conference at MAELEZO, National Information Corporation Centre. The Maasai contemplated a number of actions to be taken against both your Government and the Arab in connection with the plunder of the resources. The Maasai said that before a mass exodus of the Maasai to Kenya the first thing was to eliminate wild animals. Thereafter, the delegation retreated to Loliondo, as gravely frustrated as before.

The general election was scheduled for 2000, so the saga had to be explained away. The official statement was that power hungry opposition politicians were pushing the elders and that all the claims by the Maasai were �unfounded� and �baseless.� To its credit, The Guardian went to Loliondo. It reported the following:

Maasai elders in Loliondo, Arusha Region, who recently declared a land dispute against OBC Ltd, a foreign game-Hunting firm, have accused some top Government officials of corrupt practices, saying the conflict is not political. The Arusha Regional Commissioner, Daniel ole Njoolay, recently described the simmering land dispute between the Maasai pastoralists and OBC, as a political issue.

Francis Shomet [the former Chairman for Ngorongoro District Council] claimed that Njoolay had misled Tanzanians to believe that the allegations recently raised by Maasai elders were unfounded and baseless. Fidelis Kashe, Ngorongoro District Council Chairman maintained, �We cannot stand idle to see our land being taken away by Arabs. We will kill all the animals in the area as these are the ones attracting the Arabs into our land� (The Guardian May 30, 2000).

The next morning Government officials were reported to have said the following:

The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Zakia Meghji, yesterday assured Ngorongoro residents that no land has been sold or grabbed by Arabs in Loliondo. Flanked by the Arusha Regional Commissioner, Daniel ole Njoolay and the Director of Wildlife, Emanuel Severre, Meghji commented, �There is no clause on the sale of land in the contract signed between OBC and the six villages of Ololosokwan, Arash, Maaloni, Oloirien, Oloipiri and Soitsambu.�

However an inquiry conducted by The Guardian in Loliondo last week established that the Maasai elders were not involved in the re-lease of the Hunting block to the company. According to Megji, her probe established that the building has been constructed about 400 metres from the water source, 200 metres more than the distance recommended by law. But The Guardian investigation shows that the structures are less than 50 metres from a spring. And another spring has dried up (The Guardian May 31, 2000).

Mr. President, underline two points. First, the Minister said the building has been constructed 400 metres from the water source. Second, �The Guardian investigation shows that the structures are less than 50 metres from a spring.� Now unless one�s mathematics teacher at school was daft, there is a huge different between 50 and 400! When did 50 metric metres turn to mean 400 metric metres? Can it be claimed that the Maasai were party to this so-called agreement? I am at a loss why this-well known-Minister has not been made to face the full force of the law.

In the proposal, Brigadier Al Ali outlined the benefits of his operations in Loliondo to the Government, local communities, and wildlife conservation in the Serengeti-Maasai Mara-Ngorongoro ecosystem. Among its important objectives were:

� To conserve an area contiguous to the Serengeti National Park, which is essential to the long-term survival of the ecosystem and its migration.

� To develop a new role and image for the Arab world as regards wildlife conservation, management, and human development.

� To improve locals� revenue, development facilities, and create employment.

� To generate revenues for the Central and District Governments.

The OBC now stands accused of self-contradiction and violation of legal and moral obligations in virtually all the above areas, resulting instead in environmental destruction; unfulfilled promises and exploitation of the local communities; and direct undermining of the stability of the region�s wildlife and natural habitats.

It has become evident that OBC had a long-term agenda for exploiting the high concentration of wildlife in Loliondo. Its Hunting operations are guaranteed by the continuous flow of wildlife from the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Maasai Mara, and other areas. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, OBC "was taking advantage of migratory patterns of wildlife coming out of Serengeti."

Mr. President, be informed that the villages in and adjacent to protected areas in Tanzania have no Government-supported infrastructures. Take Ngorongoro District for instance. There is no Government hospital in Ngorongoro. It may take a week to travel from Arusha to Loliondo, just less than 400 km, depending on weather, for there is no road. There is no even a single Government advanced level secondary education school in six (repeat six) Districts in the Greater Serengeti Region. This situation brings to question the legitimacy of wildlife conservation vis-�-vis the right of rural people to lead a decent life given nature endowment in their localities.

Mr. President, the Maasai of Loliondo have for a long time accused OBC of grave human rights abuses. They have described acts of intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and even torture by OBC staff, Tanzanian police and military in the name of OBC; brazen violations of grazing and land rights; and wanton environmental destruction and imminent extermination of wildlife. They have seen leaders who once opposed OBC�s practices corrupted and bought-off.

The OBC operates like a separate arm of the Government. Many people in Loliondo believe that OBC is even more powerful than the Government. The Maa word for "the Arab", Olarrabui, is often used to refer Brigadier Al Ali, and by extension OBC. The word Olarrabui has become synonymous with power, authority, brutality, fear, and entities larger than life.

Mr. President, you do not need to be a rocket scientist to comprehend that this is the clearest case of abuse of office. It is suggested, for those willing to avert disaster, the Tanzania Government included, that immediate steps be taken to put to an end the violation of fundamental human rights in Ngorongoro. As to lands lost in Loliondo, the Government is advised to return this to its owners. Land should not be grabbed senselessly. The Government, should at once, re-look into the whole matter.

Regards,

Navaya ole Ndaskoi.

CC

- The International Court of Justice

- The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights

- The United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations

- Human Rights Groups around the World

- Faculty of Law of the University of Dar Es Salaam

- Local and International Conservation Agencies

- Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources

- The Attorney General

- The Chief Justice

- The Speaker of the United Republic of Tanzania Parliament

- The Press, print and electronic

- Political parties in Tanzania

- Tanganyika Law Society

- Other interested parties.

Navaya ole Ndaskoi

see also Extract 3734

The Maasai protest delegation holding a press conference in Dar Es Salaam in 2000