The Ivory Trade in Kenya

The Pachyderm Annihilation

By Njenga Hakeenah

25th January 2013

Kenya’s wildlife which is the largest foreign exchange earner is under threat.

This is from effects of climate change and poaching which is leading to the decimation of wild animals in big numbers.  

In 2012 alone, over 384 elephants were killed for their ivory and close to 20 rhinos met the same fate for their horns.

The animals which are among the big five are worth more to Kenya alive than they are dead. Unfortunately, poaching is on the increase and so far no one has been successfully prosecuted.

A rotting elephant Carcass in one of the unprotected areas in Kenya Photo: KUOPA/Sheldrick Trust

There are allegations that poaching increases where the Chinese are working. In Kenya, they are all over the road building industry and spread all over the country.

With the increase in poaching, radical measures need to be put in place including amending the law which has not been deterrent enough. The Kenya Wildlife Service KWS has just issued a report on the status of wildlife conservation in the past 2012 and the prospects for year 2013.

KWS affirms that the security of the Rhinos and Elephants is under threat as there has been a gradual escalation in their poaching since 2005. This is due to market dynamics influenced by escalation in the black market prices driven by demand in the Asian countries.

A rotting elephant Carcass
Photo: KUOPA/Sheldrick Trust

Two weeks ago, a gang of 10 poachers are believed to have slaughtered and carted off ivory from a family of elephants at the remote Bisadi area near Ithumba in north of Tsavo East National Park. Kws says that one of the discovered carcasses belongs to a juvenile elephant estimated at two months of age. All the elephant carcasses had bullet wounds.

From the incident, only one suspect has been arrested and KWS says he is assisting with ongoing investigations.

Kenya boasts the largest population of rhinos in East and Central Africa. This makes the country the main target for poachers of rhino horn. Currently, there are an estimated 1010 rhinos with 623 being black and 387 white.

The white rhino sub-species population includes four Northern White Rhinos imported from the Czech Republic in 2009 and 383 Southern White Rhinos.

Sustained pressure to combat rhino poaching within KWS managed national parks and reserves has moved the crime to areas outside the parks.

KWS says that of all the elephant poaching cases in year 2012, 300 elephants, (representing 78% of poaching cases) were poached in wildlife dispersal areas outside the parks with 22% of poaching occurring in protected areas. 12 rhinos were poached outside protected areas (representing 63% of all poaching cases) while seven rhinos were poached in the National Parks.

To respond to these challenges, KWS says it enhancing elephant and rhino security by apprehending and dismantling the poaching syndicates. KWS is also involved in stakeholder especially communities living adjacent to protected areas to win the war on poaching. Kenyans are also taking up arms to protect the elephants.

The organization also says that it has recovered firearms, ammunition, ivory, other hunting weapons and impounding of vehicles used in transporting ivory.

Ivory Seizures

KWS acknowledges that Kenya remains an important conduit to international destinations for illicit consignments of wildlife products and particularly ivory.

Some of the ivory seized in Kenya was on transit from Angola, South Sudan, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo among others. Destinations for the ivory contraband include China, Nigeria, Malaysia and Thailand. Ivory is being poached in every part of the continent and political instability in most of the countries is fuelling it.

In June 2012, 345 pieces of elephant ivory weighing 601 kg stuffed in six wooden boxes were intercepted at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. The contraband was being smuggled to Lagos, Nigeria.

In September 2012, another consignment of 62 pieces of raw elephant ivory weighing 255 kg was seized at the same Nairobi airport. The contraband, whose origins are yet to be established, was en route to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

On 15th January 2013, a 20 feet container suspected of containing ivory was subjected to verification and it turned out that it was containing elephant ivory wrapped in bundles of gunny bags and concealed by layers of slabs of local stones commonly known as Mazeras stones.

The suspicious container’s documents matched those of a container seized in Hong Kong earlier in the month. The details of the container are being used by the KWS to track down the culprits.

Several consignments of ivory have also been intercepted in other parts of the world with reports linking some of the seizures to have originated from Kenya.

KWS says investigations to establish the origin of the impounded ivory are usually conducted. The organization says it will continue working with other law enforcement agencies, especially Customs, the police, INTERPOL, the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, Kenya Airports Authority and Kenya Ports Authority, among others in ensuring that local and international laws on wildlife crimes are enforced. 

So far, 1,949 suspects have been arrested and taken to court where they were charged with various wildlife-related offences.

The Wildlife Ministry Permanent Secretary Hyslop Ipu has assured that the law governing wildlife will be amended to give deterrent sentences. He adds that a draft policy and bill are in place and will be debated once parliament constitutes after the coming elections.

Ipu adds that the funds will be used to equip game rangers to provide security to the wildlife even at night.

Former Kenya Wildlife Service Director Nehemiah Rotich says that for stern action should be taken against the poachers.  

Rotich says that the losses occasioned by poaching have negative effects beyond the tourism industry and affects 5 Kenyans not directly employed in the sector.

He however says that blame should not be pegged on under-staffing and equipping alone but on making everyone accountable.