THE Tanzania Hunting Operators Association (TAHOA) yesterday dismissed claims by a Kenyan governor that Kenyan elephants were being hunted in northern Tanzania.

TAHOA chairman Michel Mantheakis said conservation efforts by the government in collaboration with stakeholders, including TAHOA members, have resulted in the increased population of elephants and more intermingling of elephant herds in the Kilimanjaro-Amboseli ecosystem. 

Joseph ole Lenku, the Kajiado county governor, said in a viral statement last week that Tanzania needs to restrict trophy hunters not to go into national park heartlands, as this will also protect Kenyan elephants, after three of them were reportedly shot across the border in recent months.

He said that it is not right to license trophy hunting near the border with Kenya, whereas the TAHOA chairman said he finds it disappointing that the country governor did not inquire on the issue, and instead passed criticism on the policy of a neighbouring country.

The governor ought to have first tried to understand the situation in Tanzania and demonstrate some sympathy for members of neighbouring communities who often suffer losses of life and property owing to a rising elephant population, he said.

He similarly underlined that the elephant habitat in Amboseli National Park on the other side of the border has been depleted, due to increased elephant numbers beyond its carrying capacity.

Thus the starving elephants cross over to the Kilimanjaro National Park and surrounding hunting concessions, he stated, asserting that this causes further stress on the environment.

There is frequent loss of life in the local communities, he reiterated, telling the governor that Kenya should have done a better job to avoid spill over owing to shortage of habitat.

It either manages the population of elephants or provides adequate habitat for the elephants not to overshoot the carrying capacity and compelling movement into neighbouring rangelands, he said. 

“It’s unacceptable that Amboseli National Park in Kenya is dependent on habitats this side of the border for anti-poaching efforts,” he stated, noting that local communities suffer loss of life and property without sharing accrued financial benefits.

In that case the governor had nowhere to stand to make demands on the need to impose restrictions on Tanzania’s trophy hunting situation, he emphasised.

“The bulk of wildlife resources in Tanzania are found outside national parks and conservation of these resources is dependent on sustainable utilization and revenue generated through our regulated and legal tourist hunting industry,” he explained.

“If Kenya wants to claim these are their elephants we are hunting then they need to do a better job providing adequate habitat and managing the population of elephants better,  or build a fence and stop them from crossing,” he elaborated.

Instead of raising complaints over social media, the Kenyan official should have raised his concerns with the government through official channels, he asserted, pointing out that the government had not responded to the claims because they were not submitted to relevant authorities.

Raising serious issues on social media platforms was inappropriate, he said, affirming that licensed hunting of elephants in northern Tanzania has greatly reduced community rage. 

“It has discouraged villagers from taking the law into their own hands and performing revenge killing of elephants as is so commonly done in Kenya but not in Tanzania, despite elephants raiding local crops on a daily basis.

They have killed 13 people in a small part of Longido district in the last six years and numerous incidents go unreported, he said, while efforts to seek comments from the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) conservation commissioner proved futile yesterday.