Of all the most heinous crimes in the world, the ones perpetrated against innocents have to be the most despised, and with good reason. Poaching is right up there. I just can’t understand the appeal of killing a perfectly good, harmless, beautiful animal. Everything that can be done to deter poaching is a good thing, right?
Well, Kenya’s latest initiative to curb poaching is proving a bit controversial.
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Wildlife poaching in Kenya just got more costly as the nation announced it was turning to the death penalty to punish poachers.
Kenya is in a pitched battle to keep its elephants and rhinos alive out of danger from poachers, and officials say that existing deterrents haven’t done enough to curb the practice, so they’re bringing back capital punishment, The Independent reported.
Although poaching has been in decline in Kenya in recent years, the results haven’t been good enough.
The country stepped up its efforts with increased and enhanced law enforcement, along with more investment in conservation, with some effect.
“These efforts led to an 85% reduction in rhino poaching and a 78% reduction in elephant poaching, respectively, in 2017 compared to when poaching was at its peak in 2013 and 2012,” said Kenya’s tourism ministry.
However, Kenya still lost 69 elephants out of 34,000 to poachers in 2017, and nine rhinos from a population of less than 1,000.
Prior to the new law, poachers could receive a life sentence and a fine of up to $200,000 U.S. “However, this has not been deterrence enough to curb poaching,” said Kenya’s tourism and wildlife minister, Najib Balala, “hence the proposed stiffer sentence.”
One group not impressed by Kenya’s new approach to poachers is the United Nations.
The U.N. opposes all capital punishment regardless of the crime involved, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for the death penalty’s universal abolition.
The death penalty isn’t the only thing Kenya’s using to reduce poaching.
Specially trained sniffer dogs are being employed at the nation’s airports to detect things like ivory that smugglers are trying to move out of the country. Park rangers have also been armed with things like sensitive night-vision cameras, tracking tags, and drones to help them nab poachers before they can strike.
h/t The Independent
