William Kiprono who is the Kenya Wildlife Service director said that his agency’s community rangers will soon be given firearms that they will use in fight against poaching. This is so because they poachers are advancing in the quality of equipments that they use during the hunting. Kiprono said while addressing the Star that the service, they are working with the Kenya Police Service and has already requested for the issuance of firearms to the community rangers.
For the last three months, the community rangers have been trained in basic paramilitary procedures, management information systems and human-wildlife conflict in the game parks. They have also been trained in enterprise development models, marketing of products and services, compensation claims and procedures and the KWS organizational structure and operations. Kiprono said during their graduation in Manyiani at the Coast that the training is an important part of his organization’s function under its community enterprise is able to set up program to encourage landowners to actively get involved in wildlife protection from poachers.
He also added that this course was designed to ensure decent livelihoods from sound environmental management and on this note, he urged the recruits to use their skills to stop poaching in Kenya. These rangers came from different conservancies across the country like David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Grevy’s Zebra Trust, the Northern Rangeland Trust, El Karama Ranch, Buffalo Springs, Bisinadi and Shaba National Reserve. Hopefully they will do a good job.
