Campaigners say Tanzania plans to 'evict' 40,000 to create hunting park

Members of the Maasai community in Tanzania complain about an earlier planned eviction, which was later abandoned. Now campaigners say that the Tanzanian government is planning to evict 40,000 Maasai in the Loliondo District in order to create a hunting park for a company catering to the United Arab Emirates' royal family. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By  AFP

What you need to know:

  • There was no immediate response from the government, which scrapped similar plans next to the world famous Serengeti reserve in September 2013.
  • Avaaz said Maasai community leaders had been told they would be offered a billion Tanzania shillings ($578,000) for their lands.
  • He said the deal would be disastrous for Tanzania's reputation, for wildlife and for the Maasai.
  • The land borders the Serengeti National Park, where animals cross into neighbouring Kenya's Maasai Mara National Park.

DAR ES SALAAM

Tanzania will evict thousands of members of the Maasai community from their traditional lands if it goes ahead with plans to create a hunting park, campaigners claimed Tuesday.

Global activist group Avaaz alleged Tanzania had plans to turn 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles) of land in the Loliondo District into a hunting reserve for a company catering to the United Arab Emirates' royal family.

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There was no immediate response from the government, which scrapped similar plans next to the world famous Serengeti reserve in September 2013.

However, Avaaz said Maasai community leaders had been told they would be offered a billion Tanzania shillings ($578,000) for their lands, less than $150 each for 40,000 of them to leave.

"The Maasai are the poster boys to attract tourists to Tanzania, but in their own country they risk becoming the great unwanted," said Alex Wilks, campaign director for Avaaz, which has collected an online petition of 1.7 million names.

"This deal would be disastrous for Tanzania's reputation, for wildlife and for the Maasai," he said.

The land borders the Serengeti National Park, where animals cross into neighbouring Kenya's Maasai Mara National Park following seasonal grazing.

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