Kenya to toughen poaching sentences

Poaching has recently risen in east Africa, with whole herds of elephants massacred for their ivory. Source: AAP

KENYA plans to bolster lenient sentences for convicted wildlife poachers or ivory smugglers in a bid to stamp out a spike in elephant killings, the government says.

Poaching has recently risen sharply in east Africa, with whole herds of elephants massacred for their ivory. Rhinos have also been targeted.

Last year poachers slaughtered 384 elephants in Kenya, up from 289 in 2011, according to official figures, from a total population of around 35,000. This year, poachers have already shot dead 74.

"We intend to fight poachers at all levels to save our elephants," government spokesman Muthui Kariuki said in a statement on Saturday.

A major obstacle to this is that Kenyan courts are limited in their powers to jail or fine those convicted of wildlife crimes, he said.

"One of the major setbacks are lenient penalties and sentencing for wildlife crime by the courts," he said.

"The government is concerned about this and has facilitated the process of reviewing the wildlife law and policy with a view to having more deterrent penalties and jail terms."

Passing tougher wildlife laws will be made a priority for Kenya's parliament, elected last month but which has yet to begin business.

"We look forward to... parliament giving priority to passing of a new wildlife law and policy," Kariuki added.

Kenya's wildlife act caps punishment for the most serious wildlife crimes at a maximum fine of 40,000 Kenyan shillings ($A450), and a possible jail term of up to 10 years.

Last month, a Chinese smuggler caught in Kenya with a haul of ivory was fined less than a dollar a piece.

The smuggler, who was arrested carrying 439 pieces of worked ivory while in transit in Nairobi as he travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Hong Kong, was fined $US350 ($A337) and was then set free.

Such fines pose little if any deterrence, with experts suggesting a kilogram of ivory has an estimated black market value of some $A2406.

The illegal ivory trade is mostly fuelled by demand in Asia and the Middle East, where elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns are used to make ornaments and in traditional medicine.

Africa is now home to an estimated 472,000 elephants, whose survival is threatened by poaching as well as a rising human population that is encroaching on their habitat.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Kenya to toughen poaching sentences

Dengan url

http://jemuranduit.blogspot.com/2013/04/kenya-to-toughen-poaching-sentences.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Kenya to toughen poaching sentences

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Kenya to toughen poaching sentences

sebagai sumbernya