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China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
Photo: Daily News
By Rose Athumani
Tanzania has banned transportation of all live animals outside the country for the next three years until proper procedures are made to ensure only approved animals are transported.The government's three-year ban on exportation of live animals was clamped following rampant cheating and abuse of conditions specified on permits, which resulted to massive loss to the state in terms of revenue and animal resources.
However, the government is considering paying consolation payouts to affected traders after a rigorous verification of their claims.The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Professor Jumanne Maghembe, told the 'Daily News' yesterday that the move to ban export of live wild animals for the three years is meant to give the government enough time to put in place a better mechanism that will block loopholes for abuse of the business.
Among the issues that will be looked into before the consolation payout includes the amount of money a trader paid to government for the animals in his shed/zoo when the ban became effective."An evaluation of the animals will be conducted before we decide where they will be taken. There are a few places that they can be relocated to, mostly zoos, so they can be cared for because they cannot be taken back to the forests," he explained.
Cases of some of the traders colluding with government officials to abuse conditions of permits issued to them have been rampant with others exporting tenfold of the animals allowed by the permits, costing the country massive losses.
