Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Poaching - It must stop!

It is with deep sorrow that i write about this topic after all that has been said and done to try and curb poaching! One week ago, another rhino was killed in the act of poaching in Kenya's rhino conservancy, dubbed as one of East Africa's largest rhino sanctuary, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. The rhino was known as Chebii, she was a mother of a four month male rhino calf. 


For those of you who may not know, rhinos are among the animals on the endangered species list with only a few hundred estimated to be living! The most ridiculous and insane thing about these poaching / killings is not that the poachers are killing for just the horns of these animals because of the cash value they carry but it is believed that myths surrounding the horns of rhinos and elephants say they are good for medicinal purposes! If you think that's insane get this, Chebii (the recently killed rhino) was found not only missing her horns but her nipples and a piece of vulva had been removed!Sounds like a horror movie.These animal body parts are said to be for the use of witchcraft!! How sickening is this?!!!

In Kenya if you are caught in the act of poaching and are charged in court, your sentence would be a fine of KES 2,000 (approximately US$ 25) only!!This means if you are going to sell one piece of horn (black market) about US$ 15,000, what is a fine of US$ 25 to you?! Well, currently the government is discussing on amending the wildlife act and we just have to wait and see where that will take us. If they asked my opinion, i think these poachers need a much bigger fine and probably prison sentence to help curb poaching...


It is highly believed that the Chinese are the probable high number of buyers especially because of the cultural ties in regards to ornamental value and  (largely pseudo-scientific) medicinal purposes. It is with this effect that our friends at the Ol Pejeta conservancy have come up with a petition that they plan on passing to the China High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya and hopefully have an agreement with the Chinese government on what measures should be taken in order to protect these animals!

Please follow the link to add your name to the petition: China - Stop the killing of elephants and rhinos across Africa!


Posted by Unknown at 5:14 PM

16 comments:

  1. Miranda HardyOctober 18, 2011 at 6:11 PM

    This breaks my heart. I can't stand it. I love animals and want to preserve them in their natural habitat.

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  2. Christina LeeOctober 18, 2011 at 11:11 PM

    It's so very hard to look at that picture! :-(((

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  3. AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 11:29 PM

    This is so so so very sad. we are fighting the same battle in South Africa and it is amazing how short sighted these killers are.

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  4. LTMOctober 18, 2011 at 11:57 PM

    How terrible and sad. I hate to see that picture and know poaching is still going on. Especially with so few rhinos left. I hope the efforts to curb this are successful. Thanks, Murugi!

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  5. Robyn CampbellOctober 19, 2011 at 1:32 PM

    Heart breaking. I am signing the petition and I pray we can stop these poachers forever. It's disgusting. They must be stopped! Thank you, thank you.

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  6. Kelly PolarkOctober 19, 2011 at 3:29 PM

    I can't believe the fine is so very little for such a violent act. That is heartbreaking!

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  7. UnknownOctober 19, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    Thanks guys for your support, it is indeed very sad! We just learnt today that the four month baby that was left, also died!

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  8. Author A.O. PeartOctober 19, 2011 at 5:38 PM

    This is highly disturbing and saddening. I'm glad you are writing about this subject as many people need to be informed.

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  9. J.L. CampbellOctober 19, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    Hi, Murugi, That is so sad. The fines will definitely have to be increased to something significant along with other penalties, such as time behind bars, before people will stop poaching. I saw your note above that the baby also died. I'd guess there are rangers in the protected areas. Is it that they do not have enough man power to prevent the killings?

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  10. Kristen PelfreyOctober 20, 2011 at 7:21 AM

    Thank you for drawing attention to this issue--so hard to read about, so hard to write about, and so absolutely necessary.
    *I'm a really slow blog-hopper! :)

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  11. Karen Kyle EricsonOctober 21, 2011 at 7:19 PM

    This is so sad. It's hard to believe people would do this for superstition. I hope they raise the fines and penalties.

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  12. UnknownOctober 22, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    Thanks guys for sharing the concern, we do hope government acts quickly before it's too late. :)

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  13. Tyrean MartinsonOctober 23, 2011 at 5:54 PM

    That is so sad, and sickening. I think it is so heart-breaking when people misuse God's creatures in such a cruel manner. Thank you for posting about this concern.

    I hope the government acts quickly too.

    Nice meeting you!

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  14. Nancy ThompsonOctober 25, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    Oh my God, that is so terribly sad. Thanks for sharing this disturbing news. We in the US are sheltered from many of these atrocities. It's time we open our eyes.

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  15. GraywolfieOctober 26, 2011 at 4:53 PM

    Oh no..! Felt so sad when I look at the picture..it's so cruel..! Really hope something can be done to stop all these..

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  16. UnknownOctober 27, 2011 at 3:07 PM

    We all trying to do what we can out here and hopefully the killing will stop. Thanks guys for your comments.

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Thank you for your comments. I highly appreciate.

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