hunting regulations

In the following the important regulations governing hunting in Tanzania are shown in the order of their appearance in the law:

1. No person shall hunt any animal except under and in accordance with the condition of a valid game license issued to him/her and such game license should be surrendered at the end of the safari. 
2. Any person who wounds any animal shall use all reasonable endeavors to kill it at the earliest opportunity 
3. If a dangerous animal (elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard) which has been wounded enters a game controlled area, a game reserve, a forest reserve, a national park or the Ngorongoro Conservation Area the person wounding it shall forthwith report such entry to the, nearest Game Officer, Forest Officer, Park Warden, or Conservator, as the case may be and such Officer shall take all necessary measures to assist such person in killing the animal. 
4. Any person who wounds any dangerous animal and fails to kill it shall forthwith make a report thereof to the nearest Game Officer. Every report shall specify the date, time and place of the wounding, the nature of the wound, the efforts made to kill the animal and such other information as may assist in the locating the animal. 
5. No person shall, except by and in accordance with the written authority of the Director previously sought and obtained use for the purpose of hunting any animal any mechanically propelled vehicle, any poison, poisoned bait, poisoned weapon, stakes, pitfall, net, frap, set gun, missile, explosive, ball ammunition, snare, hide, fence or enclosure; a dog or any domesticated animal; any fire-arm capable of firing more than one cartridge as a result of one pressure of the tiger or of reloading itself more than once without further action by the operator; any device capable or deducing or designed to reduce the sound made by the discharge of any firearm; any artificial light or flare; or any anesthetic dart capable of immobilization. 
6. for the purpose of hunting any animal cause any grass or bush fire. 
7. hunt any animal from any mechanically propelled vehicle or within two hundred meters of such vehicle, except when hunting birds in water; (other than a hippopotamus, otter, sitatunga, water-buck or bird) within five hundred meters of any permanent water, pool, waterhole or salt-lick within a kilometers of a national park, a zoological garden, the Ngorongoro conservation Area or an aerodrome during the hours of darkness. 
8. No person shall for the purpose of hunting or while on a hunting trip, camp within a kilometers of any aerodrome; drug, cut or display any dead animal in the vicinity of any lodge, hotel, zoo or camp frequented by visitors; throw any animal carcass into any permanent water, pool, water-hole, salt-lick or any place commonly used by animals as a resting place; leave any animal carcass within two kilometers of any aerodrome or a kilometer of any public road, lodge, hotel or zoo; leave on any hunting site litter, refuse, unburnt trophy drying racks or a burning fire or leave such site in a state likely to constitute a danger to the public or animal health.

Regulations Regarding Weapons
There are minimum caliber regulations for the different species. 375 is the minimum caliber for Buffalo, lion and elephant and 7 mm for the larger antelopes and leopard.

Weapons of a caliber of not less than 6 mm can be used on warthog, bushbuck, reedbuck and the smaller antelopes.

22-rifles are only for birds, shotguns can only be used for birds and crocodiles. Semiautomatic weapons with a capacity of more that two cartridges and automatic weapons are not allowed. The Professional Hunter has to make sure that suitable weapons are used for the hunt.

Hunting Season 
The hunting season runs from 1st July through to 31st December. The driest months are July through October, when you can hunt throughout Tanzania.

Trophy Priorities 
Great care must be taken when informing us of your trophy priorities. Your four main species should be given to us well in advance so that the correct areas and quotas can be allocated. Please note that if you are hunting cats, We recommend a minimum of ten days per area to ensure a fair chance. Some game is restricted to you when booking less than a 21 day safari.

Firearms and Ammunition 
Please bring your own firearms. You may import three guns into Tanzania for your hunting safari. Handguns, together with automatic and semi-automatic weapons are not allowed. Most of your shooting will be done with a medium rifle, from .264 to .300 magnum. Favourite calibres for dangerous game are the .375 HandH Magnum, the .416 Rigby and the .470 Express. For long range shooting, telescopic sights are ideal. Please do not bring rifles equipped with recoil reducing muzzle-breaks.

Please bring your own ammunition. You are permitted to import 200 cartridges in each different calibre or gauge, which is ample. We recommend a minimum of 60 rounds for each rifle if you are an experienced marksman and plan to take an average quota of game. For the medium rifle, reliable bonded soft nose bullets are ideal. For your heavy rifle, bring a combination of half soft points and half “solids” of the heaviest available bullet weight. We have a limited stock of ammunition, sporting rifles and shotguns, which may be rented.

Detailed information can be found from this extract [THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ACT Cap 283]