Elephants in Tanzania: Massive killings wild parks

Hi

Could I find you to support this petition. The wild life in Tanzania is suffering the worst attacks and killings by poachers ever. Tanzania has lost 50% if it's elephant population in 3 months time. Please sign & share it on twitter and facebook if you have:

Tanzania: Stop the poaching of elephants!

 

I just signed and will send this to others I know who do have Facebook accounts. Thanks for fighting for a good cause!

By the way, welcome to ZooChat!

~Thylo

 

What is the aim of this petition? Who will the petition be presented to?

 

Read, it says it's aimed to stop elephant poaching in Tanzania. I'd guess the Tazmanian government but I'm not sure.

~Thylo

 

Well that doesn't seem to be a particularly effective choice, nor a particularly logical assumption...

 

Exactly. You're not sure, and neither am I after reading it.

 

Top right of landing page says
Tanzania: Stop the poaching of elephants!

To be delivered to:
Lembeli, James Daudi
Parliament of Tanzania,Mizengo Kayanza Pinda

 

That name sounds familiar.... he probably sends me emails about investment opportunities.

What is always amusing about these petitions is they say things like (and I quote) "Let Tanzania know the world is never going to put up with it."

Is the world going to impose trade sanctions on TZ? Are we going to boycott visiting their country for safaris? Will they get kicked out of the UN? Or are we going to show them we mean business by signing another petition?

 

Or maybe someone is trying make a difference? Comments like yours simply encourage the general apathy that seems to exist and do nothing to make a positive change.

 

The figures on their page are incorrect, lastest reports suggest only 30 per day. And it is not the Tanzanian Government doing the poaching, the government doesn't have the resources to patrol the entire country. Recently four poachers were shot dead in the serengeti, so they are trying to live up to their responsibilities. The government needs our support, not our petitions.



Hix

 

Don't mix up having no faith in this petition to being apathetic.

Hix made a great point about it not being the government's fault per se, as this isn't the same as Japan hunting whales, I think. However, one could argue that they should allocate more resources to protecting their national treasures. One could argue that they could do more to stamp out the undoubtedly rampant corruption that would allow poaching and exporting of tusks on this scale to occur.

I just feel that signing this online petition will make no difference elephant poaching in TZ. It would, however, make more people aware of the elephant's plight, which is great. (A recent Nat Geo article said 25,000 elephants were poached in Africa in 2012, so the TZ figure quoted in the petition seems a bit high.)

 

If it will make now difference then what's the harm in signing it just in case it does! Besides the more people who sign it, the more others will see how important this really is!

~Thylo

 

The petition was created by someone called Mads B. whose written language skills and incorrect details suggest to me someone in their teens. Completing the petition will give Mads B. support for his/her cause, which in this case is against the Tanzanian Government and as I said, they don't have the resources at present and should be supported and not criticised.

It's also telling that Savetheelephants hasn't been back here since he/she joined ZooChat a couple of days ago just to get people to sign his/her petition.



Hix

 

Mizengo Kayanza Pinda is the prime minister of Tanzania, and I think James Daudi Lembeli is a member of parliament.

I'm not too sure about the number of elephants being poached on a daily basis - different sources provide different numbers. The current situation is probably due to corruption in all levels and poor management of the parks & reserves. Many of these areas are understaffed, or the staff aren't paid well enough and end up collaborating with poachers to earn extra money.

Tanzania has about 15 national parks, and in addition to that there are other reserves or game controlled areas which contain elephants and other wildlife too - like the hunting blocks and wildlife corridors between national parks. Tanzania National Parks Authority(TANAPA) is in charge of the national parks, while the Wildlife Division is in charge of the other areas. Hunting companies also have their own anti-poaching patrols which operate even when the hunting season is closed, however i'm not certain if all companies engage in anti-poaching operations.

There's also an organisation called Friedkin Conservation Fund(FCF) who operate anti-poaching patrols in collaboration with the Tanzanian Wildlife Division. However, they only cover some of the game reserves/hunting blocks, including those that border the Serengeti National Park. There's a hunting company that uses the reserves bordering the Serengeti, and they work together with FCF. Hopefully FCF will expand their operations to cover other areas in future. Here's a link to their website for more information: Home

 

Bwana Simba: Where in Tanzania are you located?



Hix

 

I'm from Dar-es-Salaam, i'm currently in Canada though - forgot to update my location lol.

 

Shame - I'm hoping to visit Tanzania later this year. Could have used a contact on the ground who might know the best tour companies etc.



Hix

 

Well, I can provide you the names of a couple of tour companies which are quite good. I personally know some folks in Arusha who have their own companies. It all depends on your budget, and where you plan to visit. Their websites should provide most of the info, including different tour packages & pricing - alternatively, you can decide on which places you wish to visit and they will give you a quote for the trip.

Tanzania is a great place to visit, there's a lot more to see besides the wildlife parks, it's just that not many people know about the other attractions because they're not marketed well. The majority of tourists only know the Serengeti, Zanzibar and Mt. Kilimanjaro since they're the most famous attractions there.

I'd suggest doing some research of your own even before you contact the tour companies. There are a few websites that have a lot of info about the different parks, beaches and other attractions. I'll look for the links and send them to you. If you're only interested in wildlife, then the Northern Circuit is the best since you're guaranteed to see the most wildlife there - it includes Serengeti, Manyara & Tarangire National Parks, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Wildlife viewing also depends on the seasons since the animals migrate to and fro - rainy season isn't a good time to visit since, dry season is usually good since most of the animals congregate near the rivers in the parks but most of the vegetation is yellow and dry, except the areas near water - if you visit after the rains it's nice and green. However, you're guaranteed to see wildlife at anytime in Ngorongoro since most of the animals don't leave the crater.

Do let me know if you need more info, and i'll do my best to provide it for you or at least get you the contacts of those who can help you out. PM me if you prefer. And by the way, i'm also planning to return home sometime this year.......so who knows, we might run into each other at some point