Five elephants killed in highly protected area
What you need to know:
- The area, which has been home to British Army Training Units, is also frequented by the Kenya Defence Forces.
- Report does not mention who is responsible for the lapse in security.
Conservationists are voicing concern after five elephants were shot dead in an area reserved for army training in Sera Conservancy, Isiolo County.
A status report released by the Northern Rangeland Trust, an umbrella organisation bringing together 26 community-run conservancies, said the brazen attack highlights the risks poachers are willing to take.
However, the report does not mention who is responsible for the lapse in security.
The area, which has been home to British Army Training Units, is also frequented by the Kenya Defence Forces.
“The carcasses in Sera are from the Army Training Area, an area that is infrequently patrolled by conservancy rangers. Sera conservancy has employed rangers who patrol the area and also monitor all happenings within the vast conservancy,” it says.
According to the report, increased demand for ivory and rhino horn in Asian markets where prices have increased tenfold is driving poachers to take major risks.
However, the report says new, tougher laws may have contributed significantly to the decreasing number of poaching deaths reported this year.
STIFFER PENALTIES
In his New Year message to the country, President Uhuru Kenyatta sanctioned the imposition of stiffer penalties for poachers and other game trophy dealers to curb the menace.
The new laws introduced sentences varying from 20 years to life imprisonment for people found to have killed premier tourism species, notably the rhino and the elephant whose horn and tusks are much sought after in China and Vietnam.
Set in 300,000 hectares of trust land owned by the group ranches from Samburu, the conservancy has an agreement with Samburu county and KWS allowing wild animals to flourish while restricting livestock to selected sections of the conservancy.
