4.3 Voices from the Local People

Most of the local people interviewed raised concerns over their continued displacement to pave way for wildlife management and conservation projects and the government’s initiative to isolate pockets of islands and reserving them for hunting. This, they alleged, is often done without them being effectively involved. Some felt that government authorities were more concerned with the benefit derived from hunting by tourist hunters rather than the wellbeing of local community members. Some villagers lamented that they could no longer practice their age-old wild-animal related rituals and rites because of the restrictions placed in areas reserved for hunting.

Some local community members, although, not well versed with the hunting law, lamented that the laws and institutional framework, unlike traditional mechanisms that regulated hunting, favored a particular class (the tourist hunter). They criticized the present set up that allowed foreigners to hunt wild animals while they were restricted from doing the same. Most of them did not seem to understand the logic behind controlled hunting that benefits foreigners while they constantly keep being evicted from their ancestral lands

Some of the local community members in the Loliondo and Simanjiro districts were agitated that some hunting companies exceeded hunting quotas and slaughtered wild animals species, including endangered ones, in great numbers. Some felt that they did not see any benefits trickling their way in government’s efforts to generate revenue from the hunting industry. They alleged that some local government officials took everything that was directed towards improving their welfare. Most also condemned some officials of prominent hunting companies who did not respect their cultures nor recognize the rights of local inhabitants living in proximity to allocated hunting blocks.

As a result of the dissatisfactions, some local inhabitants engage in illegal hunting and poaching. Sometimes they took sides with personnel of private hunting companies by providing wrong information to government enforcement agencies and authorities investigating on alleged illegal activities and operations of the hunting companies in their jurisdictions.

A cross section of the local people interviewed voiced their concern on the apparent lack of transparency on the part of the government while promulgating legislation and policies that have implications on their hunting activities. In some cases, however, some community members’ representatives, especially local NGO’s, applauded the recent efforts by their local governments to press for the involvement of local peoples in wildlife law and policy-making processes.

Overall, the general feelings of most local communities in areas visited have the same indifference towards the underlying objectives of the hunting industry as they had during the colonial period. In some cases, some communities felt they were better off during the colonial period.

The extent of the validity of the some of the claims aired by local peoples relating to the operation of the hunting industry can be located in the present structure of the law. The provisions of the law do not adequately cater for their interests in matters relating to hunting. Indeed most of the provisions of the Wildlife Conservation Act basically reflect the colonial concept of wildlife conservation, which was premised on the fences and fines model.

The provisions of the law, in various ways, generally prohibit hunting by local community members living in proximity to wildlife sites. Today, most of the local community members’ age-old hunting practices, which also signified cultural bondage, have since been outlawed. This does not create an atmosphere that is conducive for the efforts aimed at effectively incorporating this group and solicit their support in bolstering the hunting industry.

The Wildlife Policy provides some hope in efforts to take on board and incorporate the perceptions and views of local hunting communities. The policy seeks to address this major concern by laying out strategies aimed at recognizing the intrinsic value of wildlife to rural communities. It seeks to enhance the use of indigenous knowledge systems of hunting and give special consideration to traditional hunting methods by specified rural community members. This policy initiative is, however, yet to be translated into legislation.

Even when this is realized, local community members will not automatically see the benefit of their involvement in the hunting industry if further steps are not taken. For example, more initiatives will have to be made to devise strategies in order to sensitize them so that they may be in a position to participate, as important stakeholders, in processes to promulgate laws, policy and institutions governing the hunting industry.