Ivory demand to blame for jumbo deaths
A Kenya wildlife ranger guards metal boxes containing 115 pieces of ivory weighing over 1,500 kilograms that was destined for Nigeria May 6, 2011. FREDRICK ONYANGO
What you need to know:
- Mr Kagwe hoped that the matter could be raised at the current summit between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The international community needs to bolster efforts in tackling the demand for ivory to stem elephant poaching.
Nyeri Senator Mutahi Kagwe in a meeting with his counterparts in the US, challenged leaders to join forces and fight rampant poaching that had claimed the lives of many elephants.
“To stop elephant poaching, we ought to be tackling the demand for ivory in China and other countries,” Mr Kagwe said.
Senator Jeff Flake, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate’s Africa Affairs sub-Committee, outlined US efforts to prevent elephant poaching in Africa.
Obama-Jinping summit
Mr Kagwe hoped that the matter could be raised at the current summit between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The senator also discussed financing of schools in meetings with US Congress members this week.
Mr Kagwe said he had travelled to Washington mainly to build a foundation for a relationship between Kenyan and US senates.
“Your Senate is more than 200 years old, and ours is new, so we want to learn from you,” he had told the US lawmakers.
