PH
A wildlife conservationist wants the government to start burning wildlife poachers as opposed to burning ivory tusks as a better and real way of fighting poaching.
Jeremy Baton a Nakuru based conservationist says that burning ivory does not help in the fight against poaching because it does move poachers.
He said countries have been burning ivory for years but this has not helped in any way to stop poaching.
Baton said that if the government burns one or two poachers then other poachers will be scared of killing elephants and rhinos.
Speaking Sunday at the Lake Nakuru national park ,Baton said that poachers killing wildlife are known and the government should make them pay for their sins.
“This thing of burning ivory has never helped in the fight against poaching and it Will never help.The best thing the government should be doing is to burn the known poachers as a sure way of dealing with poaching,”said Baton.
“If we publicly burn two poachers I can assure you that this poaching thing will come to an end,”he said.
He claimed that some poachers were disguising as wildlife conservationists and were working with people within government and the Kenya wildlife service in ivory trading.
“Some of these so called conservationists are the real poachers and they are protected by people within government and KWS who also benefit from ivory trade,”he said.
On Saturday president Uhuru Kenyatta led international and local delegates in burning thousands of tonnes of ivory tusks at the Nairobi national park.
The ivory burning was to send a clear anti poaching message across the world.
