Arusha. Local hunters have once again criticized a new legislation on wildlife hunting.
They claim that the recently passed Bill on hunting could be another ploy to push them out of business.
Mr Saidi Mzee, the secretary of Tanzania Local Hunters Association (TLHA), said they had reservations on the Bill.
“It is bent on removing us from hunting,” he told The Citizen, calling for swift intervention of higher authorities.
He said efforts to reach out the relevant authorities to have their grievances heard and acted upon have been futile.
That is despite a series of meetings convened by the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (Tawa) for the hunting companies and other stakeholders.
Also involved is the Wildlife Division in the Natural Resources and Tourism, another government arm overseeing wildlife hunting.
Criticisms against the bill follows recent complaints by the same group over not being allocated hunting blocks with sufficient numbers of animals.
The 45-member TLHA alleges this was a systematic way to push them out of the hunting business in favour of tourist hunters from abroad.
However, lately the body has claimed that most critical in their grievances are not confined to the hunting licenses.
Mr Mzee said the critical point on their grievances was the recently passed “draconian bill” which threatens to edge them out of hunting business.
“The premise of our cry is on the new bill, not licenses”, he affirmed, calling for the intervention of President Samia Suluhu Hassan on the issue.
“Our salvation is in Mama Samia,” hinted the chairperson of the association, Mr Ali Jumbe, in an interview.
He alleged that the Wildlife Conservation (Resident Hunting) Regulations, 2020 were not friendly to the indigenous players in the industry.
TLHA, a legal entity registered since 2011, is one of the hunting groups whose members are licensed to hunt for game meat, trophy
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