A man identified as Samuel Gitome from Nakuru County on 22nd November, 2018 arraigned in court and charged for being in possession of zebra meat contrary to the Wildlife Conservation Act. Appearing before Chief Magistrate Josephat Kalo, Mr. Gitome was charged for possession of zebra meat weighing 208 kilograms worth Ksh. 83,200 found on 21st November 2018 at Soysambu Ranch in Mabruk, Nakuru County.
The suspect was charged together with others who were not before the court but he denied the charges and pleaded to be released on reasonable bond terms claiming that he was framed in the matter. The other suspects managed to escape leaving behind two motorbikes and eight manila bags stashed with 208 kilograms of zebra meat which was believed to be ferried to butcheries in Gilgil and Nakuru towns and sold to unsuspecting customers as there is huge demand for meat during the festive season.
According to the court hearing, the man was found in possession of the meat by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers who were patrolling on a desnaring mission with Africa Network For Animal Welfare (ANAW) team, Project Abroad Volunteers and Soysambu Conversancy Rangers.
The accused was unable to produce documents permitting him to have game meat forcing the officers to make the arrest. The magistrate, in his ruling, released the accused on a Ksh. 1 million bond or an alternative cash bail of Ksh. 500,000 pending mention of the matter on Friday 30th November, 2018.
Hours of trekking through the bushes of Soysambu Conservancy bore fruit when a team lifted eighteen live snares and 27 dead snares during the exercise. The group encountered a man with 210 kgs of bush meat in sacks and numerous snares. The man was immediately detained and arrested. The man gave information that led to netting of two motorcycles that they were to use to ferry the bush meat.
The team on patrol consisted of volunteers, officers and field guides from ANAW, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Soysambu Conservancy, Projects Abroad and Bweha Camp.
The news of China ending its 25 year ban rhino horn trade came as a blow to Kifaru Primary School pupils and staff in Nairobi's Umoja Estate, a school that prides itself on working to save the mighty herbivorous mammals as ambassadors for the endangered rhino or kifaru in Swahili that are native to Africa and some parts of Asia.
"It's the wrong step towards the environment. Rhinos are rare animals in most countries in Africa and the world at large. If we keep on poaching rhinos then the next generation will have nothing," Moses Kuol Malual, a former pupil at Kifaru Primary told DW.
"Most countries in Africa depend on tourism for their income."
In 2011, environmental activist Sam Dindi began working to raise awareness at schools in Nairobi and Kisumu, a port city on Lake Victoria, about the plight of the endangered species.
Dindi found Kifaru Primary a perfect model for his rhino education platform because of its name. "I first began by taking the students to Nairobi National Park. This is because some of the students had never seen a real rhino," Dindi says.
"I told them to be ambassadors of the animal when they return to school. They now understand what a rhino is and its importance."
Three of the five species of rhino are listed as critically endangered. Their numbers have been decimated by the poachers who are after rhino horn, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine or as a supposed aphrodisiac.
Rhino numbers declined in Africa during colonial times, when the animals were hunted for sport and meat. The demand for rhino horn has since shifted to Asia and the Middle East, where one kilogram can fetch up to $60,000 (€52,700) (Ksh. 6,211,800) on the black market.
In a policy directive on October 29th, the Chinese government said it would allow the use of rhino horn and tiger bones for "medical research" or "healing." The horn would have to be sourced from rhino raised in captivity, excluding zoos, it noted.
Beijing's lifting of the ban could roll back efforts to save the animals, the Kenyan government and wildlife conservationists have warned.
International trade in rhino horn has been illegal since 1977 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).
"The pronouncement of China is against the international goodwill to protect endangered species," said Kahindi Lekalhaile, Director for Public Affairs at the Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW).
"Banning the trade of the rhino horn both domestically and internationally was appropriate as a precautionary principle to avert the extinction of any remaining species of rhino in the world."
Lekalhaile warned the move could "actually trigger a poaching spark in Africa and Asian countries."
ANAW in partnership with the KWS Vet Section responded to two zebras with wire snares on the foot and neck at Soysambu Conservancy on 9th October, 2018. The rescue exercise continued the following day with few other wildlife spotted with snares in Naivasha area.
On 2nd November 2018 a team of ANAW & Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) embarked on a mission at Maanzoni Ranch, in Machakos County, to rescue two zebras after receiving a distress call from residents on the ground. One of the zebras had a snare around its neck; it was darted, treated and released back to the wild.
The second zebra had near-fatal wounds on its hind legs and a wire snare on its neck. It was darted and upon prognosis it was established it had a deep wound on its hind legs. The team cleaned and treated the wounds then released the zebra.
ANAW continues to work with KWS and other stakeholders to free these wildlife species from pain, injury and discomfort.
For more pictures visit the link below:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M49EgT-lYntgTT03-x2oSvN9OoX40n6N?usp=sharing
October 6, 2018 by Merritt Clifton
Marginal roles
NAIROBI, Kenya––Looming over Kenya like the Standard Gauge Railway trestle at the northern edge of Nairobi National Park, or the marabou storks overlooking the dense traffic on the highway into Nairobi from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, is the question of how $10 billion in recent Chinese investment in railway, road and airport infrastructure will transform wildlife tourism. Small-holding farmers and pastoralists ––people who live by herding––have for decades breathed the dust from speeding tourist vans and jeeps; chased animals straying out of the national parks from their crops and huts; mostly kept their own sheep, goats, and cattle outside of the parks, despite notorious encroachments during drought years; lost animals to predators from the parks; and yet have been relegated, mostly by lack of education and professional training, to increasingly marginal roles in tourism as dancers, bead-crafters, woodcarvers, and roadside vendors.
The Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) Director of Programs, weighs in the discussion.
For more details click onto the link below:
World Animal Day is a day set aside globally on the 4th of October every year to celebrate animals. It is a special opportunity to commemorate our love and respect for animals by doing something special to highlight their importance in our communities and in the world. World animal day unites the animal welfare movements, mobilizing it into a global force for change.
The main objective of this year’s celebration in Kenya is to raise awareness on animal welfare, especially amongst the urban population of Nairobi. As animal welfare advocates, we recognize the strong linkage that has always existed between animals and human beings, more so within the African culture. Communities recognized the symbiotic relationship between people and animal which built a mutually respectful relationship between them. With time however, this harmonious co-existence has been threatened and continues to face significant strain.
Through this year’s celebration, we seek to increase awareness about the dynamic yet important relationship between human beings and animals. We too wish to raise awareness on the key element that animals are sentient beings, that is, they experience and display feelings; and their welfare should be protected and recognized because animals are a key component of the ecosystem in society.
Writer: Joseph Wangui
Publication: The Daily Nation
Date: June 24, 2018
Tourism CS Najib Balala has revoked the appointment of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) board boss, John Waithaka, as the chair of a taskforce evaluating the possibility of allowing Kenyans to consume game meat.
Mr. Waithaka was replaced with Mr. Ben Ouma Okita, the Deputy Chair of the African Rhino Specialist Group and a board member of the Conservation Alliance of Kenya (CAK).
He is also the head of monitoring at Save The Elephants (STE). He will oversee finalizing of the report and review of policy and legislative framework relating to consumptive wildlife utilization.
The team is assessing the potential and economic benefits of consumptive wildlife utilization programs in contributing to improved food security, job creation and livelihood support.
On August 13th 2018, ANAW got a call from one of the residents in Diani about an infant Sykes monkey that had been dropped off at the clinic by one of the locals. The infant had a snare tied around its waist and was afraid of humans. Rescue team members brought it back to the conservation where it was examined.
The patient had a bright and alert demeanor, good body condition and hair coat. Fortunately, the snare had not cut through the skin but had just caused a slight inflammatory reaction. The vet immediately removed the snare to avoid further damage to the Sykes monkey. The area around the snare was shaved, cleaned with chlorhexidine and iodine was applied. She was dewormed using ivermectin and put in orphan care together with one of our resident sykes- Neptune.
Her skin wound has now fully healed, and the fur has grown back and as soon as her quarantine period is over, she will be integrated with the sykes' troop in rehabilitation. She was christened Okolewa by one of the staff members. It is hypothesized that she was being kept as a pet and the owner got tired of keeping her and dumped her at the resident’s house.
Recent research has shown that over 60% of diseases in human originated from Animals. In a quest to stop anymore spill over of diseases from animals to humans, the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) together with Washington State University (WSU) and Food Animal Organization (FAO) has been piloting the Kenya Livestock and Wildlife Syndromic Surveillance (KLWSS) system, a near real time electronic surveillance system developed to improve early detection of outbreaks. Forty eight (48) Field Officers from Kilifi and Kwale counties among them Dr. Janerose Mutura from ANAW attended the training on the KLWSS system held at Vacani Resort in Voi from 12th-15th June 2018.
