Kenya lost over 100 rhinos in three years

Originally shared by Environmental Investigation Agency

Kenya lost over 100 rhinos in three years

Kenya lost over 100 rhinos to poachers in the last three years, raising fears that the country's total number of 1,000 rhinos could be wiped out, a government official said Wednesday.

Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu said illegal wildlife trade presented a serious threat to the survival and conservation of many endangered species.

Wakhungu said that effective prosecution was hampered by lack of concrete expert evidence that could link a poacher to a confiscated wildlife product.

"In order to combat wildlife crime, we have strengthened policies and legal frameworks, increased law enforcement capacity, and developed effective judicial systems," Xinhua news agency quoted her as saying.

Judi Wakhungu was speaking in Naivasha, northwest of Nairobi, after officially opening a workshop on scene of crime trainers drawn from various countries in the continent.

Wakhungu said the country was developing and implementing regional wildlife enforcement strategies and networks that were interconnected through a global coordinating mechanism.

Full story at http://www.siasat.com/english/news/kenya-lost-over-100-rhinos-three-years

#rhino #Kenya #poaching

Image (c) N.J Wight