Over 200 security officers based in Narok and Kajiado counties have received a one-week training on Wildlife Conservation and Protection in a bid to promote tourism.
Speaking to journalists, when he officially closed the training, Wildlife Conservation Secretary Dr. John Chumo expressed optimism that the rampant illegal poaching at the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and Tsavo National Park will be a thing of the past.
Chumo explained the purpose of the training is to build the capacity of officers who include; the Kenya Police Service, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and all other staff that deal with cases on poaching and animal protection.
The officers were trained on scientific methods and the new technology to detect and arrest poachers as they protect wild animals.
The Wildlife Secretary observed that both Tsavo National Reserve and Maasai Mara Game Reserve border the Tanzania country, where poachers escape to avoid arrest.
To curb this illegal trend, he reiterated, a similar training was undergoing in Tanzania to equip their security agents with necessary capacity to detect and arrest poachers.
“The law is clear on poachers. Those found capable can get a life sentence or heavy fines. That is why it is dangerous to engage in such criminal activities,” he observed.
Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia on his part called on collaboration between the members of the public and the police to arrest those with ill-intention of poaching wild animals.
“The Maa community has done a great job in protecting the wild animals. It is against their beliefs and norms to poach wild animals for food. This means that most of the people involved in the illegal poaching could be coming from other counties,” said Lotiatia.
He underscored the security agents will not relent in their duty to protect wild animals as they are a source of revenue in the county.
This year, Narok County was named among the top counties in revenue collection, an initiative that is attributed to the collections made at the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
The county governor Patrick Ntutu recently announced that the county targets to raise the Own Source Revenue from Sh.3.2 billion collected in the financial year 2022/2023 to Sh6 billion in the current 2024/ 2025 financial year.
The Maa community has often been praised for boosting conservation and protecting wild animals that loiter in their homesteads looking for food and water.
Despite the community’s efforts to protect the wild, the number of poachers has been increasing following the high demand of trophies outside the country and increasing sale of bush meat to unsuspecting consumers.
By Ann Salaton
