Poaching for ivory and rhino horn is on the increase throughout Africa and the lenient punishment for poachers has failed to stop them. In Kenya, many elephants and rhinos have been killed by repeat poachers, often within weeks of their arrest and paying the meager fines that are defined by the law.
In July, six elephants were killed in the Siana Group Ranch just outside the world famous Maasai Mara. The poacher was arrested by patrol scouts from Predator Aware – a conservation programme in the Mara – and handed over to rangers from the Narok County Council and the Kenya Wildlife Service. He was charged in court and was released after paying the paltry fine that Kenyan law has set for such crimes. The poacher, who was arrested for the first time some 20 months earlier, is free to kill again after his recent arrest and release in July.
In Laikipia in the northern Kenyan rangelands, five rhinos were killed in July. Two were killed inside Ol Pejeta Conservancy in one week and a third was seriously injured and it is not known if he will survive. One of the two killed was Max, a tame Southern White rhino, who was shot 17 times. Ironically, Max had been dehorned six months ago but the poachers still hacked off his face and took the stumps that had been left after de-horning. The neighboring Solio Ranch, according to independent sources, has lost four rhinos in just three weeks. Mount Kenya National Park has also lost a rhino, though there is no official communication of this.
The Kenya Wildlife Service and various conservancies and wildlife ranches have stepped up efforts to arrest the situation. Recently, a notorious poacher believed to have been masterminding the poaching in Laikipa was killed by KWS rangers as he and two accomplices attempted to enter Ol Pejeta. So far, 13 people have been arrested by KWS including one dealer who operated from Nairobi’s South C suburb.
Whereas this is a marked increase in arrests and is evidence of stepping up of the fight against poaching, the prevailing law on poaching is still too lenient and is an impediment to the fight. A poacher caught with rhino horn could pay a fine of as little as $200 whereas a kilo of the same horn will fetch thousands of dollars on the Asian market. The KWS is now appealing to Parliament to pass the Wildlife Bill ,which has stiffer penalties including jailing poachers without the option of fines.
“The Bill has been lying there and it is high time our legislators passed it if we have to protect our endangered species,”
- Robert Njue, KWS officer
No comments:
Post a Comment