PART VII
GOVERNMENT TROPHIES
27. Government trophies
(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) and any regulation made under this Act, the following shall be Government trophies and shall remain to be the property of the government –
a) any animal which has been killed or captured without a license, permit, written permission or written authority granted under this Act, and any part of any such animal;
b) any animal which is found dead, and any part of any such animal;
c) any animal which has been killed in defence of life or property and any part of any such animal;
d) any trophy which is in the possession of any person who is unable to satisfy the Director that he lawfully acquired the same;
e) any trophy in respect of which a breach of the provisions of this Act has been committed;
f) any trophy which the Minister may, by order in the Gazette, declare to be Government trophy;
g) specimens originating from Tanzania exported or re-exported in contravention of the provisions of this Act and CITES implementation regulations; and
h) specimens re-exported or imported in contravention of the provisions of CITES which cannot be returned to the country of origin.
(2) Any trophy found or obtained in a national park or the Ngorongoro Conservation Area or in respect of which an offence has been committed under the National Parks Act or the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Act shall be the property of the Government.
28. Unlawful possession of Government trophy.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall not be in possession of, or buy, sell or otherwise deal in any government trophy.
(2) A person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction-
a) where the trophy which is the subject matter of the charge or any part of such trophy is part of an animal specified in Part I of the First Schedule to the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority Act, and the value of the trophy does not exceed one hundred thousand shillings, to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years but not exceeding fifteen years or to a fine of not less than twice the value of the trophy or to both; or
b) where the trophy which is the subject matter of the charge or any part of such trophy is part of an animal specified in Part I of the First Schedule to the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority Act, and the value of the trophy exceeds one hundred thousand shillings, to a fine of a sum not less than ten times the value of the trophy or imprisonment for a term of not less than twenty years but not exceeding thirty years or to both.
c) in any other case -
i. where the value of the trophy which is the subject matter of the charge does not exceed one hundred thousand shillings, to a fine of not less than the amount equal to twice the value of the trophy or to imprisonment for a term of not less than three years;
ii. where the value of the trophy which is the subject matter of the charge exceeds one million shillings, to imprisonment for a term of not less than twenty years and the court may, in addition thereto, impose a fine not less than ten million shillings or ten times the value of the trophy, whichever is the larger amount
(3) For the purpose of subsection (2)-
a) in assessing the punishment to be awarded the court shall, where the accused person is charged in relation to two or more trophies, take into account the aggregate value of all the trophies in respect of which he is convicted, and in any such case the provisions of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection shall apply in relation to all such trophies if anyone of them is part of an animal specified in Part I of the First Schedule to the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority Act;
b) in assessing the punishment to be awarded under this section, the court shall calculate the value of any trophy or animal in accordance with the certificate of value of trophies as prescribed by Minister in the regulations; and
c) in assessing the punishment to be awarded under this section, the court shall calculate the value of any livestock on the basis of the normal price of the livestock on a sale in the open market between a buyer and a seller independent of each other.
(4) In any proceedings for an offence under this section, a certificate signed by the Director or wildlife officers from the rank of wildlife officer, stating the value of any trophy involved in the proceedings shall be admissible in evidence and shall be prima facie
evidence of the matters stated therein including the fact that the signature thereon is that of the person holding the office specified therein.
29. Duty to report possession of Government trophy
(1) Any person who sees any government trophy in the possession of any person not authorised to possess a government trophy, shall immediately report such possession to the nearest wildlife officer, wildlife warden, wildlife ranger, park warden, park ranger or police officer and shall, where required, deliver the trophy to such officer, warden or ranger and give particulars of the person in possession.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and on conviction shall be liable to a fine of not less than one hundred thousand shillings or for imprisonment for a term of not less than twelve months or to both such fine and imprisonment.
30. Disposal of Government trophy
The Director shall be responsible for the disposal of all Government trophies subject to any instructions that may be given by the Minister in consultation with the Minister for the time being responsible for finance
