Kenya Poaching Crisis 'National Disaster'
Kenya must take drastic action to stem a surge of elephant and rhino poaching, veteran conservationist Richard Leakey warned Wednesday, lamenting that known ringleaders are operating with "outrageous impunity".
The poachers have "an extraordinary level of international criminal backing... operating with outrageous impunity, killing our elephants and rhinos at levels that will make them extinct within the country," Leakey told reporters.
"It's a national disaster, and we have to stand up and say that it cannot go on."
Kenya, acting as a conduit for smuggling across East Africa, is "now the worst in the world for ivory trafficking," Leakey said, quoting an INTERPOL report which said 13 tonnes were seized last year.
The rise in poaching -- with rhinos being killed even inside the most heavily guarded zones -- show that poachers have little fear of tough new laws designed to stem the wave of killings.
"They could not operate with the impunity we are seeing if you did not have some form of protection from law enforcement agencies," Leakey said.
"It is a problem of a few criminals... the ringleaders are known," he added, claiming that a core group of around 20 to 30 people were organising the mass poaching but that none had faced justice.
While declining to provide specific names, he said it was "unthinkable" security forces "do not know the names of the key players".
Leakey, 69, a Kenyan national and former head of the government's Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), was key in stemming the rampant poaching of the late 1980s, bringing in extreme measures to combat poachers including sending helicopter gunships into national parks.
Kenya's elephant and rhino populations recovered from the brink of disaster, but more than two decades later the east African nation is once again facing soaring levels of poaching.
Leakey warned of a "very similar situation" to the mass poaching of the 1980s, and said the KWS force needed a complete overhaul and new management.
"We cannot afford to lose what is left," he said. "The only way to stop it is to appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta to be bold, to take action."
19 March 2014, 15:40
01
Kenya needs to ENFORCE the law! LIFE in prison and/or 250K fine. No more letting these poachers/traffickers off with lesser sentence when they claim they cant pay the fine! Whats the point of having the law if its not enforced??!! Clearly the problem will only get worse if the traffickers know there are no consequences for their actions. The animals will continue to pay with their lives as long as the judiciary chooses to look the other way and dole out lesser sentences for pathetic excuses.
19 March 2014, 15:52
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I too wish there was an answer. Drastic times call for drastic measures......shoot the poachers with lethal force.
19 March 2014, 16:11
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Let the army kill these poachers on sight!Wildlife trade will not look so easy and attractive!
19 March 2014, 16:25
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I agree. We are way too relaxed in enforcing laws to help wildlife. It goes to show the government is relaxed and afraid to use the law. It could be under the table money.
In America, when a house is raided for animal abuse, the law is so tickled to find drugs and weapons. The animals take a back seat.
I live in America and I am mad we don't stick up FOR animals and make money or community service secondary. I AM MAD.
19 March 2014, 16:30
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Shooting the poachers will not stop the poaching as others will just replace them, it's
the ring leaders and the criminals that buy the tusks and horns that need to be found and targeted.
19 March 2014, 16:55
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Your Excellency, #UhuruKenyatta, the World is looking to you to follow Nepal's lead and declare Elephants and Rhinos National Treasures!
19 March 2014, 17:24
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I have been to kenya lots of times i love the place lets have a kill the poacher month
19 March 2014, 17:41
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This has been going on far too long. No one has a brain who allows or condones this!
19 March 2014, 18:23
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Tourism is the second biggest generator of income in Kenya. When two of the big 5 are gone in the country, the tourists will be gone as well. Why the tourism industry is not SCREAMING to the government and the media about this is beyond me. The livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Kenyans are on the line, so that 30 or so kingpins can profit. KWS won't have much to do when the wildlife is gone, will they? To facilitate these extinctions from within KWS and/or any other government arm is incredibly short-sighted and craven. The people of Kenya have a voice and have a major stake in the health and wellbeing of the wildlife and the ecosystems that support it. They'd better wake up or see a 12% drop in GDP overnight when the tourists elect to skip game drives devoid of game.
19 March 2014, 20:04
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Kill the poachers slowly let them have time to think about they are about to loose.Kill every one found.God bless our animals
19 March 2014, 20:23
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The lack of action makes one wonder if the government or senior officials are directly involved in the poaching.
19 March 2014, 21:46
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I 100% agree with Phil Clark above. It's the only way. But it needs to go beyond that. An international authority needs to be set up along the lines of the United Nations, with the mandate to instigate action anywhere in the world where the large scale killing of endangered species or illegal destruction of the planets' resources, such as rain forest, has become apparent. Future generations will curse the present generation's lack of foresight and will to protect our precious resources.
