KENYAN claims of an upsurge in ivory poaching do not stand up to close
scrutiny, according to the country’s own elephant experts. At the meeting of the
Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Nairobi next week, Kenya
will push for an end to the international sale of legally culled elephant ivory
because of a supposed rise in poaching. However, the country’s position is
weakened because of a dispute over its own poaching figures.
Nehemiah Rotich, the director of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and
custodian of his country’s elephants, has repeatedly claimed in recent weeks
that poaching is…
