Environmentalists urge Tanzania's president to act on elephant poaching

Environmentalists in the US are calling on the president of Tanzania to crack down on the country's elephant poaching epidemic. President Kikwete is currently in the US for private conservation meetings.

President Kikwete's visit comes just two months after President Obama's trip to Dar es Salaam, where he announced an Executive Order to combat global wildlife poaching and trafficking. 

Part of the Executive Order involves the creation of a Presidential Task Force to fight international wildlife trafficking to support countries, such as Tanzania, devastated by illicit poaching and trade. 

"The slaughter of Tanzania's elephants is threatening the billion dollar tourism industry and the thousands of jobs underpinned by revenue from United States tourists and others from around the world wishing to witness Tanzania's spectacular wildlife heritage," said Allan Thornton, president of the Environmental Investigation Agency, an international campaigning organization based in Washington, DC and London. "We appeal to President Kikwete to urgently confront this crisis."

It is estimated that 30,000 elephants have been killed in Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve between 2006 and 2009. 

Picture credit: © Andre Klopper | Dreamstime Stock Photos