Tanzania Asked to Ban Elephant Hunting

NAIROBI (Reuters) — Conservationists petitioned Tanzania on Aug. 12 to end elephant trophy hunting in a vast wildlife reserve area that spans its common border with Kenya.

About 2,000 elephants, including the “super-tuskers,” so called because of their large tusks, roam the wildlife conservation range known as Amboseli National Park on the Kenyan side and Enduimet Wildlife Management Area on the Tanzania side.

Unlike Kenya where trophy hunting is illegal, Tanzania allows sport hunting of elephants for prized tusks and issues permits for the activity. That has resulted in instances where hunters killed Kenyan elephants from across the border.

“The loss of these elephants is not just a blow to elephant populations but to our collective efforts in conservation,” Cynthia Moss, founder of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, said.