skip to Main Content

Illegal hunting is on the increase thus calling for serious measures

Dr Paula Kahumbu who is the Wildlife Direct Director said while talking to journalists in Nairobi Kenya that the sentence given to those found guilty of poach is still lenient which is why there are more deaths of elephants. She said that the judiciary must be ready to increase on the punishment for these offenders to help stop the trafficking of ivory in Africa.

She also said during a talk at the National Museums of Kenya that her organization has involved the judiciary in awareness creation following the fact that there are so many magistrates and prosecutors who do not understand the importance of wildlife and they give light sentence to the offenders as opposed to what other countries are doing.

She noted that the current sentence of 10 years and a fine of US$470 is only helping traffickers go scot free since their agents can easily pay up that amount of money which is why all wildlife product traffickers should be given life imprisonment of be fined an amount which is not less than US$235 000 to help stop the cartels from destroying the wonders of nature which is a source lots of revenue and thus contributing greatly to the development of the nation.

Kahumbu revealed that a study that was done by her organization this year in 15 courts in the country, revealed that 2 000 people arrested every year for cases related to wildlife abuse like poaching and trafficking but only 10% are taken to court and tried while other go free which so wrong thus the reason she wants to change this.

Back To Top