What is the problem?
For Westerners, it’s often hard to understand why someone would slaughter such a majestic animal; how can one bring themselves to do it? Furthermore, one might ask: are enough actions being taken? In this blog, we dive deep and take a closer look at ivory poaching in Kenya. Despite various attempts to stop it, elephant and rhino poaching for ivory remains a significant issue. Kenya does relatively well compared to other countries; particularly in Central Africa, poaching is rampant. Between 2008 and 2016, the elephant population here dropped by an alarming
66%: in these countries, elephants are dying faster than they can reproduce. Helicopters, military-grade weapons, and even poisoned vegetables: poachers use all their creativity to slaughter herd after herd. Not okay!
Ivory tusks and rhinos are traded within a large network of African gangs and corrupt governments.
A large portion of the ivory ends up in China, where a rapidly growing middle class is addicted to the white gold: from bracelets to combs, statues, and other status symbols, they are more than willing to pay for it. This demand has driven the price of ivory so high that a single tusk can fetch over $100,000. This has led many 'hunters' and traders to open a ruthless hunt for even more elephants and rhinos.
For poor farmers, the huge profits from ivory can be an enticing option, but these amounts are relatively small. For example, a former poacher at Mount Kenya tells that during his poaching days, he received $100 per tusk, which is a huge amount for most farmers. What these poachers often don’t know is that this amount is sometimes multiplied by a hundred (!!) on the market. The middlemen are the ones who make the most money, and these people are very rarely caught red-handed. When the poacher is arrested, the middleman can often find a new supplier without much difficulty.
Poaching in Kenya
Kenya is known for all its national parks and reserves, which are home to tens of thousands of elephants and thousands of rhinos. The world-famous Masai Mara, Amboseli, and Tsavo are just a few examples of the most popular destinations among tourists. Many of these parks and reserves are protected by
KWS, or the Kenya Wildlife Service. It was established in 1990 and employs rangers to combat local poaching, but also to
apprehend traders on a larger scale.
In recent years, there has been a decline in ivory poaching in Kenya, and the country is performing well compared to its neighboring countries. However, this doesn't mean the problem here isn't urgent.
More ivory is shipped from the port of the Kenyan coastal city of
Mombasa than from any other city on the African continent, and corruption is also a common issue in Kenya. The KWS arrests many poachers, but the intermediaries remain difficult to catch.
Is there any good news then?
Yes, there is! According to the non-profit organization
Save the Elephants, the value of ivory has decreased: in 2014, the price of a tusk was on average $2,100 per kilogram, but it has
dropped to $730 in the past year. This could be a result of the global campaigns against buying ivory. In recent years, there have been many of these campaigns with celebrities, political leaders, and passionate wildlife representatives urging China to make the ivory trade illegal. This had an effect: since 2018, China, the world's largest ivory market, has made the trade in ivory and ivory products illegal. This was seen as a major victory for protecting elephant and rhino populations. Additionally, these campaigns have also raised awareness among many communities: some people, for example, didn't know that ivory came from poached elephants before these campaigns.

As the famous conservationist Dr. Richard Leakey said a few years ago in an
interview with The Guardian: "The problem will never go away until there is no demand for ivory. If we can convince the market that obtaining and buying ivory is a bad thing, then there will be no need to kill elephants and rhinos."
Anti-poaching patrol teams
The decline in wildlife poaching in Kenya is the result of hard work and dedication from the rangers who protect the animals in national parks and conservancies day and night. Stricter penalties for so-called 'wildlife crimes' and closer cooperation with local communities have also contributed to
making many areas safer. During
Africa Inside Out, Charles and his team visited several conservancies where anti-poaching teams operate, from Ol Pejeta to Borana and Mount Kenya. But the fact remains: the trade is still thriving.
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