Kenya poaching a ‘disaster’

NAIROBI: Kenya’s government was under renewed pressure Friday to declare a “national disaster” because of the rampant slaughter of elephant and rhino, with two major newspapers dismissing wildlife authority claims that the situation was under control.
Conservation groups have repeatedly said the state-run Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is losing the fight against poachers and the organized crime bosses that pay them, and that the country’s famed wildlife, key to the nation’s vital tourism economy, is on a fast track to destruction.
In a rare common call, top newspapers said more action had to be taken and they accused the KWS of sleeping on the job and trying to cover up the real extent of the poaching problem.
“Poaching is a national disaster,” The Standard newspaper said in its editorial. “KWS is being economical with the truth when it argues that poaching is not an immediate danger.”