Kenya is preparing to set ablaze on April 30 the world’s largest stockpile of elephant and rhino horn ivory ever to be burnt, weighing 120 tons , the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Regional Development Authorities, Judi Wakhungu disclosed on Wednesday.
Wakhungu said that Kenya has in the past three years redoubled its efforts and relentlessly implemented a number of measures directed at combating elephant poaching and the illegal trade in elephant ivory within and across its borders.
“The poaching of elephants and rhinos and illegal wildlife trade is a major problem across much of Africa, it threatens the very survival of these iconic species,” she said in Nairobi at a ceremony to officially launch the site preparation where the ivory will be torched.
She disclosed that in 2014, 164 elephants were poached in the country which significantly reduced to 96 in 2015, adding that 35 rhinoceroses were illegally killed in the same year, compared to 11 in 2015.
“Although the destruction of ivory and rhino horn will not in itself put an end to the illegal trade in these items, it demonstrates Kenya’s commitment to seeking a total global ban in the trade of ivory and rhino horn,” she added.
Wakhungu further offered a 21-day amnesty for the surrender of any wildlife trophies which are held without a permit issued by the Kenya Wildlife Service.
President Uhuru Kenyatta will lead the ceremony to set ablaze the ivory stockpile.
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