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 www.siasat.com/english/news/kenya-lost-over-100-rhinos-three-years

#rhino #Kenya #poaching

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9 hours ago  ·  

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2 days ago  ·  

India: Rhino deaths raise questions about conservation efforts

The death of three rhinos in the last few days inside Jaldapara National Park in Alipurduar district has once again raised questions about the effectiveness of rhino conservation.

While the forest department accuses a section of villagers of being hand-in-glove with the poachers, forest gram sabhas hold a section of forest department employees responsible the for regular poaching of rhinos.

On Saturday morning, members of Mendabari gram sabha recovered the decomposed carcass of a rhino under Mendabari beat of Chilapata range of Jaldapara National Park (JNP). That the horn of the rhino was missing confirmed that it was killed by poachers.

Before that, carcasses of two rhinos were found under Sisamara beat and Mayurdanga beat in Jaldapara range of JNP. Foresters said one of the two animals died due to fighting and another died a natural death.

The recovery of carcasses of three rhinos at a time when the rhino census was on has raised questions about the effectiveness of rhino conservation. On Sunday, members of five forest gram sabhas gheraoed forest officials at Chilapata forest range and questioned how the rhino was poached when the census was going on.

Full story at www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/rhino-deaths-raise-questions-about-conservation-efforts/article1-1...

#rhino #India

Image: Rhinoceros in Kaziranga park, India, by Satish Krishnamurthy ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago  ·