Residents of Uvanga village in Matula Sub-location, Machakos, have raised alarm over suspected hyenas devouring their livestock and requested the Kenya Wildlife Service to come to their rescue.
They said the hyenas have been feeding on their goats and sheep for a while but the KWS was taking no action.
“I woke up in the morning only to find my seven goats dead,” Mr Morris Muange, one of the locals told reporters at Uvanga village.
Muange said many residents were also counting losses after losing their livestock to the animals.
“If it is possible, bring good traps so that you get them alive, since they hide on the hill waiting for nightfall to attack,” Muange advised KWS.
Last year Tourism and wildlife Cabinet Secretary (CS), Najib Balala, launched Kenya’s lion and spotted hyena recovery and Action Plan at the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
The Plan aimed at a long-term vision of sustaining a viable population of lions and spotted hyenas in a healthy ecosystem being world heritage.
Balala said that lack of proper planning had led to cases of human wildlife conflict but cautioned communities against taking the law into their hands by killing wildlife.
He advised aggrieved communities to utilize provisions of the wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013 to file compensation claims whenever wild animals causes destruction.
By Ann Kangero
