Police display ivory seized in Kaloleni, Mombasa in July 2019. /FILE.
NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 31 – The rate of Elephant poaching in the country has drastically reduced, according to the latest statistics by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
In a statement, the agency attributed the reduction to adequate security measures put in place by the government and the existence of tougher laws that acted as a deterrent to poachers who have a growing appetite for the species ivory.
The data complied, dating seven years back, revealed that 2012 was the worst year for the elephants after a total of 384 elephants were reported to have been poached with the number reducing as of 2018 to 38 elephants.
For the rhinos, 30 species were poached in 2012 with the number reducing to four as of 2018.
The Brigadier John Waweru-led agency said the decline in the number of two species listed to be part of Kenya’s big five is highly attributed to the efficient working collaboration security agencies.
“Structured engagement with agencies such as the National Police Service (NPS), National Intelligence Service (NIS), Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) among others has been intensified to address matters of mutual interest and to draw and implement area-specific security strategies to counter poaching threats and other wildlife crime,” part of the statement read.
Consequently, KWS said, “the level of poaching of the iconic species has reduced by over 90 percent in the last years”.
Currently, the number of elephants in the country stands at over 34,000 while the rhino population stands at over 1,000 – the fourth and third largest country populations in the world respectively.
The agency has also been keen over the recent years to bolster community engagement to win support of the locals in enhancing wildlife security.
“This initiative has focused on the youth, local elders and women especially in the Laikipia/Samburu ecosystem. As a result, elephant poaching and retaliatory killings has greatly reduced and the community is now sharing information with KWS,” the agency said.
And to prevent and combat wildlife crime, and in particular poaching and trafficking in wildlife species and their products, KWS has established and strengthened specialized security units that are deployed throughout the country.
These include the Canine Unit that helps to sniff wildlife products/tracking wildlife offenders and the Prosecution Unit for wildlife-related offenses.
Recently, during the 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP) by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting held in August 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland, Kenya made a strong case to fight poaching of elephants, rhinos and other endangered species.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Act, any person charged with killing endangered animals is subjected to life sentence or a fine of Sh20 million.
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