Tanzanian wildlife authorities told parliament on Friday that they dismantled 95 poaching syndicates in the east African nation in the 2020/2021 financial year.
Damas Ndumbaro, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, said 302 poaching attempts were thwarted across the country’s wildlife-protected areas during the same period.
Ndumbaro made the remarks when he tabled his ministry’s budget proposals for the 2021/2022 financial year in parliament in the capital Dodoma.
He said a 2020 aerial elephant census revealed that the number of elephants in the Serengeti ecological system increased from 6,087 in 2014 to 7,061 in 2020.
“Measures aimed at eliminating poaching included beefing up patrols and reinforcement of communications in wildlife protected areas,” the minister told the House, adding that the government has reduced poaching by 90 percent.
Meanwhile, Ndumbaro said authorities are continuing with efforts aimed at eliminating invasive plant species which are hazardous to wild animals in wildlife-protected areas.
