Kenya presents its first wildlife census
Admin GHRTV
On August 30, 2021, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife of Kenya, Najib Balala, presented the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, with the 2021 National Wildlife Census Report, Kenya’s first wildlife census report. The report was fully funded by the government of Kenya and conducted by the local wildlife preservation experts, with the plans to make the wildlife census triennial.
The 2021 National Wildlife Census Report studied 59 percent of Kenya’s overall territory and provided statistics on 30 different animal species. According to the report, the population of lions, zebras, hunting antelopes, giraffes, and elephants is growing. For instance, Kenya’s elephant population now constitutes 36,280 elephants, an increase of 21 percent from 2014, when illegal elephant hunting was at its peak, demonstrating that efforts to penalize and prosecute wildlife crimes turned to be successful.
President Uhuru Kenyatta welcomed the report, emphasizing that the census findings will help the government of Kenya to protect and preserve wildlife, Kenya’s national heritage. President Uhuru Kenyatta further thanked the Kenya Wildlife Service for the progress in fighting against illegal hunting and tasked the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife of Kenya to transform the report’s recommendations into policies and wildlife preservation programs.
For more information, please see https://www.the-star.co.ke/
