Related News
Elephant poaching surges after crackdown ends
Print Edition
Tanzania has been hit by a sharp upsurge in poaching, with at least 60 elephants killed in the two months since the government was forced to halt a controversial crackdown, a senior official said.
This month Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete sacked four top ministers amid accusations that the anti-poaching drive — codenamed “Operation Tokomeza,” or ‘Operation Terminate’ — had led to security forces carrying out a wave of killings, as well as torture and rape.
But Deputy Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Lazaro Nyalandu signalled that the draconian operation, in force during October, saw a drop in poaching.
“During the entire period of the operation only two elephants were reportedly killed, while 60 were butchered between November 1 and December 28,” the deputy minister said late Sunday.
He said the east African nation, home to the Serengeti national park, would now approach foreign governments and institutions for help on how to proceed.
“Those to be approached include the European Union and Asian countries. Asian countries are reportedly main consumers of elephant tusks,” Nyalandu said.
The anti-poaching operation saw the security forces operating under a shoot-to-kill policy and making sweeping arrests.
Poaching has risen sharply in Africa in recent years, threatening tourism, a key foreign currency earner for Tanzania.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
