Acting KWS director William Kiprono last month downplayed what seemed to be an upsurge in poaching of elephant and rhino as he resisted calls from wildlife activists to declare the poaching of the two endangered species a national disaster.
He reported that 51 elephants and 11 rhinos had been killed this year alone with a notable increase in rhino poaching compared to elephants. KWS says Kenya lost 59 rhinos and 302 elephants in 2013 compared to 2012 in which 384 elephants and 30 rhinos were killed for their horn.
At least 249 suspects had been prosecuted for wildlife offences but most of them were set free after paying “minor fines.”
Despite the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act that imposed heavier fines on wildlife crimes, poaching of elephants and rhinos has not stopped.
Lesiyampe added that the government had formed an anti-poaching committee which will look into all aspects of poaching and recommend actions that must be followed and executed to deal with the poaching menace.
The PS announced plans to revamp the intelligence unit of KWS in a bid to address the agency’s shortcomings in winning the war against poaching.
“Intelligence is very, very critical and crucial it is the ingredient of really solving some of the problems we are facing today, and therefore we intend to have a senior officer from the NIS to come and provide advice on how to revamp and restructure the intelligence service of the KWS to help us in combating poaching,” said Lesiyampe, who is a former official, with the wildlife management agency.
The Kenya Wildlife Service will also recruit 600 new rangers from Monday.
The PS announced plans to revamp the intelligence unit of KWS in a bid to address the agency’s shortcomings in winning the war against poaching.
“Intelligence is very, very critical and crucial it is the ingredient of really solving some of the problems we are facing today, and therefore we intend to have a senior officer from the NIS to come and provide advice on how to revamp and restructure the intelligence service of the KWS to help us in combating poaching,” said Lesiyampe, who is a former official with the wildlife management agency.
Some 600 rangers will also be recruited at KWS from Monday.
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