De-snaring Project Serengeti
Amongst the different projects Tanganyika Wilderness Camps (TWC) supports, such as the protection of the Western Corridor in Kilimanjaro between Amboseli and Kilimanjaro, is the De-snaring Project in Serengeti.
Wildlife in Serengeti is subject to poaching. This takes place mainly in the western part of Serengeti National Park and Grumeti Game Reserve. Poachers usually use wire snares. The snares are set high up in trees to capture giraffe and on the ground to capture other animals, such as antelope, big cats, etc,. This practice has become more and more intense and we, in the private sector, understand that or we do something to prevent this practice or the Serengeti National Park will be seriously endangered in a short period of time. Two months ago, all Tourism Stakeholders, Tanzania Tour Operation Association (TATO), Tanzania Hotels Association (HAT), hotel & camp OWNERS in northern Tanzania with a physical presence in Serengeti National Park together with the Chief Park Warden of the Serengeti National Park, The head of the Frankfurt Zoological Society agreed to develop a multi-disciplinary team to fight this crucial problem the park is facing.
Since the Serengeti National Park was gazetted in the 1950’s illegal Poaching of Wildlife for Meat has been a management challenge and has and continues to use major resources from Serengeti National Park (SENAPA) to try and keep it under control.
It is proposed to set up mobile de-snaring teams that will Patrol not only the boundary of the Serengeti National Park but within the Protected area as well. These teams will be accompanied by Tanzania National Park (TANAPA) Rangers to give them a legal mandate, powers of arrest as well as Security while out on Operations.
Tanganyika Wilderness Camps, as an active leader of this project, will contribute through the bed nights with $1 per person per night for this project. To begin with, last December 2016 TATO Conservation Support injected 33000 USD to help set-up the first unit for this project and repair one vehicle.
More information is available at this link.
