NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Conservationists
have called on the government to declare the current rampant
poach-ing a ‘national disaster’ to help curb declining
to Dr. Richard Leakey, a pal-eontologist and the chairman of the
WildlifeDirect, a worldlife conservation charity organization,
the elephants will be wiped out in the next 10 years unless
measures are undertaken to stem out this crisis.
of elephant is reoccurring, and if nothing is done about it
then the country will lose the remaining 300,000 elephants in
Kenya by 2023,” Leakey, former Director of Kenya Wildlife
Service (KWS), said in Nairobi ahead of the stakeholders’
meeting in Nairobi to chart the way forward.
poaching menace has brought renewed attention to a crisis that
has persisted for decades—the steady decline of Africa’s
wildlife due to growing human populations and poverty that has
put agricultural communities at odds with wildlife for
between land for wildlife and land for farmers and pastoralists
in Kenya has also reached crisis level with rampant killing of
lions and elephants among other types of important wildlife.
East African nation has also lost 21 rhinos and 117 elephants to
poachers since the beginning of 2013.
of these elephants, he said, 37 were killed in protected areas
while 80 were outside protected areas.
lost 289 elephants to poaching in 2011 and another 384 elephants
is also one of the most endangered animals not only in Kenya but
said in 1979, 1.2 million elephants roamed the African continent
but that number currently is 300,000 elephants.
have lost 75 per cent of the elephant herds mainly due to
poaching, loss of habitat and human conflict.
the situation is worse.
the elephants are physically counted by an independent group
we need to be very wary,” he said.
In order to combat this menace, Leakey said his
WildlifeDirect will on Wednesday announce their partnership
with key stakeholders in government, NGOs, private sector,
local celebrities, community leaders, corporate organizations
in a bid to end elephant poaching that is rampantly becoming a
catastrophe in the country.
is among countries in Africa where poaching is rampant despite
the vice having been outlawed in the country in 1977.
target especially rhinos and elephants for their tusks and
skins, which fetch a lot of money in the black market.
to send 1.8 tons
of raw ivory back to Africa
(Xinhua) -- Singapore’s
Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority is sending back 1.8 tons of
raw ivory to Africa for further investigations and enforcement
actions there, it said on Tuesday.
ivory was “inspected and quantity verified” by the authority
and the African enforcement authorities in preparation for the
return to Africa, it said.
Singapore authority seized the shipment, estimated to be worth
2.5 million Singapore dollars (1.97 million U.S. dollars), on
January 23 when it was in transit in Singapore.
tusks were en route to another country from Kenya.
were packed in 65 gunny sacks and falsely declared as waste
authority said it has concluded its investigations and confirmed
that no local importer was involved in the case.
is working with the Kenyan Wildlife Service, Kenyan Police and
the Lusaka Agreement Taskforce in returning the tusks to Africa.
shipment is the second largest ivory seizure in Singapore since
is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and all
African and Asian elephants are endangered species.
trade in ivory has been banned under the convention since 1989.
Singapore, the maximum penalty for illegal trade of ivory is a
fine of 50,000 Singapore dollars (39,370 U.S. dollars) per
scheduled specimen and/or imprisonment of up to two years.
same penalties apply to any transhipment of ivory through
Singapore without proper CITES permits from the exporting and
to tackle elephant poaching
Christine Lagat and Peter Mutai NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The
Kenyan government on Wednesday announced a new partnership with
Kenya Airways and conservation groups to revitalize the campaign
against illegal poaching of elephants.
“Hands off Elephants Campaign,” which is spearheaded by
Kenya’s First Lady, Margaret Kenyatta, has been put together
by WildlifeDirect, a wildlife conservation charity, to create
awareness, engagement and mobilization on the issue within
Kenya, across Africa and around the world.
is an important day for us all as it marks the beginning of
public awareness campaigns to help eradicate poaching and
trade in ivory products to save our elephants,” said Cabinet
Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources Judi
East African nation has the fourth largest elephant population
in the world but poaching, environmental pressures and human
activities have threatened the survival of this mammal.
reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protect elephants in
line with global treaties. Besides endorsing the provisions of
the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species
(CITES), Kenya recently passed a bill that propose harsh
punishment on wildlife crimes.
the new Wildlife Bill is enacted, these penalties and
sentences will be enhanced to make them punitive and
discourage poaching and ivory traffickers,” Wakhungu added.
said that the government is stepping up anti-poaching efforts by
deploying modern technology and modernization of the KWS in
addition to establishing a Canine Unit to detect movements of
illegal ivory at all airports and other entry points.
its part, the government is committed to ensuring that our
wildlife is safe. We will provide the necessary support to KWS
and other law enforcement agencies to curb poaching of
elephants and illegal trade in ivory,” Wakhungu said.
said the government has also directed that all poaching cases be
prosecuted as economic crimes, and revised penalties to higher
fines of over 11,500 dollars and sentences of over 5 years.
has invested in state of the art technology to strengthen the
fight against wildlife poaching. The cabinet secretary revealed
that introduction of scanners and sniffer dogs at border points,
airports and seaports has minimized smuggling of ivory and
stressed that healthy collaboration among law enforcement
agencies, conservation lobbies, the private sector and
communities is critical to strengthen the war against elephant
Kenya’s 38,000 elephant herd is both an ecological and
economic imperative. Kenya has been identified as one of the
leading transit routes for smuggling ivory out of Africa, with
several incidents of ivory seizures and recovery of wildlife
carcasses in recent days.
estimates that more than eight tonnes of raw and worked ivory
have been seized since 2009.
The demand for ivory in the Far East has attracted
criminal cartels to Kenya, who are feeding the insatiable
warn that unless the demand is extinguished, poachers will wipe
out Africa’s elephants.
of the Vision 2030 Delivery Board, Mugo Kibati, said that
elephants are a major factor in the success of the tourism
industry, which is one of the major sectors in the economic
pillar of Kenya’s Vision 2030.
our Medium Term Plan, we have set out to grow tourist numbers
from the current 2 million to 3 million by the year 2017.
However, this will not happen if our elephants disappear,”
recent days, there has been a surge in cases of poaching, posing
a threat to elephants. According to statistics from the KWS,
elephant poaching has grown consistently over the last three
years during which 829 elephants were killed. Last year, Kenya
lost 384 elephants to poachers compared to 278 in 2011 and 177
Airways CEO Dr. Titus Naikuni noted that wildlife poaching has
harmed Kenya’s image and is a threat to the country’s
economic growth and environmental health.
national airline is behind the “Hands off Elephants”
campaign that has been endorsed by state agencies and
conservation groups to re-energize the war against poaching of
elephants and other big mammals.
protect elephants goes beyond illegal trade in ivory. There is
an environmental imperative to it due to their critical role
in maintaining a healthy ecological balance. Mother Nature is
very unforgiving if you destabilize it,” said Naikuni.
said that conservation of elephants and other wildlife is the
responsibility of all Kenyan individuals, companies and
are part of our environment; therefore poaching them harms our
country and national heritage. Mother Nature is very
unforgiving when we change the balance in the environment,”
is the reason we decided to get involved. As Kenya Airways, we
do not condone poaching or delivery of poached ivory on our
flights, and this message has been passed to our staff and
passengers. Any of our staff found involved or abetting
poaching will face the consequences.”
urged greater involvement of grassroots communities to boost the
fight against elephant poaching in the wild. Kenya, Uganda and
Tanzania are both poaching epicenters alongside major transit
route for smuggled ivory heading to overseas destinations.
February, Kenya Airways signed a deal with Born Free Foundation,
an international charity, to contribute towards anti- poaching
campaigns and conservation of wildlife conservation in Africa,
and partner to raise funds for such initiatives.
Director Paula Kahumbu, warned that Kenya risks losing most of
the elephant species if poaching is not halted.
estimated one third of elephant herd in Samburu have no adults
due to poaching. It is the responsibility of all state
agencies, corporate and ordinary citizens to protect elephants
from slaughter by criminals,” Kahumbu told journalists.
added that creative incentives are needed to encourage
communities and ranchers scale up protection of elephants.
traditionally has been at the frontline in combating elephant
poaching but we have lost that ground in recent years. It is
essential that we work together and restore our leadership
position in the world to ensuring that we protect our
endangered species, and a global heritage,” she said.
lauded the government for welcoming the initiative which brings
Kenyans together to save the country’s heritage.
we crack down on wildlife crime in Kenya, we also need the
help of governments of Africa, Thailand, China and U.S. whom
we are asking to ban the domestic markets of ivory as legal
markets are a cover for laundering illegal ivory.”
will also appeal to the hearts of anyone buying ivory in these
countries as they are contributing to the slaughter of African
elephants,” Kahumbu added.