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{
    "id": 54156,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/54156/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 43,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Nanok",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Forestry and Wildlife",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 57,
        "legal_name": "Josephat Koli Nanok",
        "slug": "josephat-nanok"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) The number of elephants killed by poachers in Kenya from 2003 to date is 844, with the highest number being in 2009 when a total of 204 were killed. In 2010, 187 elephants were killed. This year alone we have lost 70 elephants. (b) The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is in receipt of an elephant ivory seizure report from Thailand through international media. The report alleges that on 31st March, 2011, Thailand Customs intercepted 247 elephant tusks and one ivory piece all weighing 2,033 kilogrammes. According to the export documents in their possession, the alleged contraband was said to have been shipped via the sea and the shipping route was indicated as Kenya-Thailand. The KWS and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, a regional inter-governmental cross-border wildlife enforcement agency, have already established contacts with the Thailand Customs, requesting for the export documents related to this seizure, in order to initiate investigations on this matter. We have not yet received all the required documents as at this stage and expect to receive them soon. Therefore, at this point my Ministry is not in a position to confirm or deny that the said shipment originated from Kenya and the identity of the suspect(s) exporters until investigations are completed. The investigation is being done jointly by various Government agencies, the Interpol and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force. (c) The Government is committed to dealing effectively with elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade in the affected areas across the country. Law enforcement efforts have been put in place in a bid to ensure the security of elephants and other wildlife in their dispersal areas, arrest poachers and prosecute them in courts of law. The Government of Kenya, through the KWS is implementing a range of strategies geared at addressing poaching in general and especially poaching of endangered species. Some of the strategies currently being employed include the following: (i) The KWS has a fully fledged and equipped armed wing deployed across the country, especially in the known poaching hotspots to ensure wildlife security and contain poaching and illegal ivory trade. During the last eight years, law enforcement efforts by the KWS security teams have led to the arrest of a total of 496 elephant poachers and recovery of 10,552.76 kilogrammes of ivory. The team has over the same period been engaged in a total of 86 successful contacts with armed poachers. Sadly, a total of nine KWS rangers have been killed in the line of duty and 16 injured by armed poachers, while protecting Kenya’s wildlife during the period. (ii) The armed wing of the service has established units that are mandated to conduct ground patrols, gather intelligence on wildlife crime, investigate wildlife crime incidents and arrest and prosecute suspects. The units are strategically deployed and work closely with other Government security agencies through sharing of intelligence information and joint anti-poaching operations. (iii)The Service has deployed patrol aircraft in most of the major parks and in certain areas outside the parks that are known for banditry and wildlife poaching. The aircraft provide aerial support to ground patrol teams, as well as collect information on wildlife distribution so as to facilitate effective and strategic deployment of personnel. Key emphasis is placed on endangered species, that is, elephants and rhinos."
}