Sport hunting in Tanzania threatens the Maasai, but the EU has no plans to ban trophy imports

Brussels – Sports hunting in Tanzania is increasingly threatening the Maasai, the indigenous people torn from their land for hunting activities, whose products will continue to be sold in the EU. The European Commission has no intention of changing the current rules, even in the face of practices considered immoral and inhuman by the European Parliament. The Greens, Socialists (S&D), and radical left (The Left) are mobilizing through a joint question calling for a ban or suspension of imports of hunting trophies from the East African state precisely because of the negative impact on the indigenous peoples in the Ngorongoro conservation area.

The Maasai live between Kenya and Tanzania. An estimated 463,000 of them live in the latter country, according to censuses carried out. According to MEPs, hunting trips in which parts of the hunted wild animals are kept and displayed as trophies endanger one-third of the Maasai population in Tanzania. “The Tanzanian Government has been evicting Maasai peoples from their ancestral lands in Loliondo since 2022 and is currently taking action to evict 150,000 Maasai from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Loliondo,” the 19 signatories denounce

An elephant in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania [photo: Zenith4237/Wikimedia Commons]

Even the Office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations expressed concern regarding the measures the national government enacted in Tanzania, criticizing the policy of promoting hunting tourism and safaris to the detriment of indigenous peoples. In short, the EU of rights and values should make itself heard, but when faced with a precise and timely request, the EU executive responds with inaction and the intention to do nothing. “The Commission does not currently intend to revise its approach to trophy hunting,” said Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for the Environment. The reason is that “the Commission believes that legal, well-regulated trophy hunting programs can deliver benefits for both wildlife conservation and for the livelihoods and wellbeing of Indigenous people and local communities living with wildlife.”

The human aspect of the matter is not considered because it cannot be considered. It is a legal and technical question, explains Roswall. “The applicable EU legislation governing trade in wildlife, including hunting trophies, does not provide a basis for suspension of trade for reasons other than those related to the adverse impact on the conservation status of the species.” In essence, the EU can only ban imports of Tanzanian hunting trophies if they endanger animals but not the humans in the area. So, nothing for the Maasai, then? No. The government should give them “compensation and fair, transparent sharing of the revenue from natural resources.” That’s how it goes, apparently.