Kenya Reports No Rhinos Were Poached in 2020
Increased anti-poaching efforts and expanded community outreach have led to an incredible year free from rhino poaching in Kenya - for the first time since 1999.
Wildlife officials have announced that no rhinos were poached in Kenya throughout last year.
“For the first time in 21 years, Kenya Wildlife Service reported zero poaching of rhinos in the year 2020”, revealed Brigadier John Waweru, the Director General of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
Rhino poaching reached a peak back in 2013 when at least 59 were killed for their horns in a single year.
Now, a combination of increased anti-poaching efforts and expanded community outreach have helped turn the tide against poaching.
“Without tourists I think poachers might think KWS had gone to sleep, but instead we did the reverse and enhanced our efforts,” Waweru explained to The Independent.
“At the start of the pandemic we found there was more interest in bushmeat poaching, but thanks to a sustained, aggressive campaign to help people understand it is not an alternative to beef, we were able to curtail it quickly.”
And Kenya has seen huge progress in protecting elephants too. The country recorded its lowest-ever yearly total for elephant poaching, falling from 350 each year five years ago to just 22 in 2020. “I believe it is not a pipe dream to get Kenya’s poaching level to zero,” added Waweru.
Other conservation efforts in Kenya have also reported success in 2020, with The Amboseli Trust for Elephants announcing that they had a record year for elephant births with over one-hundred baby calves being welcomed into the world at the project last year.
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