Rhino cub. Illegal poachers sell rhino horns to idol doctors and goldsmiths (Photo: Reuters) The International Fund for the Welfare of Animals is funding a new project to combat illegal hunting, and to protect elephants and rhinos in Kenya
Parks in Kenya where the largest concentrations of elephants and rhinos live will receive a million and a quarter dollars to purchase trucks, communication equipment and build better roads, as part of a program against illegal hunting. "The challenges facing the parks are enormous, and they need help," said Elizabeth Wumba, from the International Fund for Animals, which finances the project.
Another important part of the program against illegal hunting is education programs and increased manpower in Tsavo County - an ecosystem that covers 21,632 square kilometers, where 52 percent of Kenya's nature reserves are concentrated. The AP news agency reported that illegal hunters in the area hunt rhinoceroses for their horns and elephants for their tusks - which are used for idol medicine, ornaments and expensive jewelry.
Tsavo County is divided into two, and its eastern part is the largest park of Kenya's 24 parks. It is patrolled by 106 park rangers, who try to protect 11,791 square kilometers. In the western park, whose area covers 9838 square kilometers, there are 196 guards.
"Robbers, hunters and a problem in the relationship between man and nature pose a serious threat to the biodiversity in this ecosystem. To deal with these threats, we need guards, fuel, aircraft and vehicles that are good for movement in the field, so that we can run patrols and operations against illegal hunting," said Daniel Ndoi, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Nature Services in Kenya. "Therefore, let us spare no effort and resources to preserve these two areas as sanctuaries for our wild animals," said Kenya's Vice President, Modi Owerri, at a press conference to mark the launch of the project.
Poachers and bandits operated freely in Kenya in the 1989s. In order to combat the phenomenon, the government abolished the Department of Nature Management and Protection in XNUMX and created the Kenyan Nature Services as a more autonomous organization, which is able to act much more quickly while having an independent decision-making process. With the help of the international boycott of the same year on the ivory trade, which led to a drop in its price, illegal hunting decreased to a large extent.
