KENYA: Food Vendors Want Ban On Game Meat Lifted

Kenya is seeking to reintroduce selling of game meat at restaurants and hotels to boost competitiveness of the facilities on the global culinary landscape.

Tourism secretary for tourism Najib Balala said his ministry will undertake research over the next year on farming of game ahead of the re-introduction.

We must benefit from game resource, my team is working on it and definitely we will encourage the farming of wildlife and then we will have availability of game meat being sold in our restaurants and our hotels, he said during the opening of Tamarind Tree Hotel in Nairobi.

Restaurants, including the Carnivore, have been lobbying the government to allow for the re-introduction since the 2004 ban, which only allows for sale of ostrich and crocodile.

Carnivore had been selling game meat since it was established in the early 1980s, but what it had been associated with for over two decades stopped abruptly, cutting out game meat enthusiasts from its customer base.

It has now become more of an events-hosting entertainment facility rather than the game meat haven it was famed for.

Killing of wildlife for sport was introduced in Kenya in 1910, but was banned in 1977 when the number of certain species fell drastically.

The poaching concern led to the ban on the sale or import of game meat despite constant lobbying by restaurants.

Since then, visitors expecting to sample game meat of antelopes, gazelles, zebras, wildebeests among other wild animals have had to bear with whetting their appetites with ostrich and crocodile.

Wildlife species that have significantly declined and are critically threatened in Kenya include elephants, rhinos, Grevy Zebra, bongos, lions and cheetahs, among others. Some are hunted in conflict, for game meat and trophies.

There are only 30 Sable antelopes in Kenya currently, 3,765 Grevy zebras and less than 2,000 lions, according to KWS data submitted to Parliament.

The numbers are set to keep dropping if these animals are not protected.

Licensed game meat sellers in Kenya are rethinking their business models following a continued sales ban and refusal by the government to allow imports from South Africa.

A restaurant such as the Carnivore which has been selling game meat since the early 1980s has now become more of an events-hosting entertainment facility rather than a game meat haven it has been known for.

Sale of any game meat was banned in Kenya in 2004 because of concerns over poaching, forcing game meat outlets to restrict themselves to selling crocodile and ostrich meat whose sale remains open.

“Our customers have become disappointed over the last few years because the government won’t even allow us to import game meat from South Africa,” said Martin Dunford, the chairman of the Tamarind Group, which owns the Carnivore Restaurant.

Carnivore has been selling game meat since it was established in the early 1980s, but what is has been associated with for over two decades stopped abruptly, cutting out game meat enthusiasts from its customer base.

Since then, visitors expecting to sample game meat of antelopes, gazelles, zebras, wildebeests among other wild animals have to bear with the only two types on offer ; the ostrich and the crocodile.

“We shall continue lobbying the government to lift the ban or allow us to import from South Africa because it is an added advantage to the restaurant and the tourism industry,” said Mr Dunford, whose company also operated a game meat restaurant in South Africa.

“Our business has been under severe attack because we have specialised and associated with the game meat for many years.”

Kenya currently cannot sell game meat as one of the delicacies visitors can find in the country, letting the opportunity slip to South Africa, where game meat industry thrives.

Statistics indicate that South Africa has 11,000 private game ranches that supply to the game meat outlets across the country. Kenya has 17 private and group game ranches.

The ban has also affected ranchers like the Delamare, which supplied game meat outlets.

The trade offered them alternative income stream from culling the animals in their ranches.

Forestry and Wildlife Minister Noah Wekesa said that despite requests from game meat sellers, the ban will stay in place to check on poaching, a crime that has been rising in the country.

“I have said the ban will stay to safeguard the wildlife,” said the minister, without giving indications whether the lifting of the ban for game meaty sellers will be considered.

Game meat sellers urge that allowing controlled sale of the delicacy helps to put more value to animals in an addition to the value derived from tourism, as long as that animal is not classified as an endangered species.

Because more than 50 per cent of wildlife in Kenya live in unprotected areas, it is argued the policy of restricting consumption of game meat by the hosts mostly farmers and pastoralists, worsens the human-wildlife conflict to the detriment of the animals.

Despite the ban on sale of game meat, trends of poaching in Kenya over the last three years have been rising, with the number of elephant deaths in that period growing by five times.

Data from various sources show that while 47 elephants died in 2007 due to poaching, the number rose to 145 in 2008 and to 216 in 2009.

Bonaventure Ebayi, the director of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF), a regional anti-poaching initiative, said poachers are using technology to increase attacks against food and non-food wildlife.


Tourism Observer

TANZANIA: Maswa Game Reserve

Located along the southwestern boundary of the Serengeti National Park, Maswa is the dry season refuge for many Serengeti animals. The Simiyu, Mbono, Semu and Mongomawe rivers form the main drainage courses providing water for the game in the dry season. In January and February, the epic wildebeest migration passes through Maswa feeding on the spring grasses.

Maswa is home to buffalo, lion, leopard, roan, Coke’s hartebeest, East African impala, Thomson’s gazelle and Robert’s gazelle. There is also an abundance of zebra, Defassa waterbuck and warthog, as well as topi, wildebeest, East African bush duiker, dik-dik, baboon, bushbuck, eland, klipspringer, greater kudu, Bohor reedbuck, steinbuck, hyena, jackal, ostrich and roan antelope.

Anti-Poaching
The Maswa Game Reserve borders the world-famous Serengeti National Park and at times during the year the great migration passes through Maswa's boundaries. Wire snares target the migration and indiscriminately kill animals. FCF rangers in Maswa clear extensive snare lines during their patrols.

FCF rangers encounter bushmeat and ivory poachers on a fairly regular basis. Elephant poaching is especially prevalent with over forty carcasses identified by FCF rangers in 2010. Other major concerns are illegal charcoal production and domestic livestock overgrazing along the boundaries of the reserve.

FCF has a very high concentration of field personnel based in Maswa with twenty full time anti-poaching personnel there on a year-round basis. One of FCF's microlights is based here and is proving to be very effective in assisting anti-poaching efforts.

Community Development
FCF collaborates with the Meatu District and the Wildlife Department to support projects prioritized by the villages neighboring the Maswa Game Reserve. Education, highly valued across Tanzania, has been a priority in this area.

FCF has sponsored projects such as the construction of teachers' homes, student scholarships, and library support in villages along the western and southern boundaries of the concession.

GIS & Research
The Maswa Game Reserve is part of the famed Serengeti ecosystem. Itsupports a large resident ungulate population and hosts the great migration of wildebeest and zebra during January and February. Conflict and competition for natural resources between humans and the wildlife is prevalent in this area.

The Maswa Game Reserve is part of the famed Serengeti ecosystem. Itsupports a large resident ungulate population and hosts the great migration of wildebeest and zebra during January and February. Conflict and competition for natural resources between humans and the wildlife is prevalent in this area.

UGANDA: Ostriches, Uganda Kobs, Lions And Zebras Poached

A new audit of wildlife populations in game parks shows that the number of animals is on a sharp decline, raising fears of a possible extinction of some rare species.
Last year alone, 25 elephants were killed in Murchison Falls, which is the worst scenario ever reported in a single conservation area, considering that Uganda was previously losing around three elephants only to poaching every year.

“The population of some wild animals is declining,” the Auditor General said.
“Mostly affected are the lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park, whose population has reduced by 81 per cent, followed by ostriches (79 per cent), Zebras (74 per cent) and Uganda Kobs (69 per cent), among others”.

Currently, tourism contributes about 5.7 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product per annum. The World Travel and Tourism Council figures further show that the total contribution of travel and tourism to Uganda’s GDP, including its wider economic impacts, is forecast to rise by 5.9 per cent per annum from Shs3.3 trillion, which is 7.6 per cent of GDP this year, to Shs5.8 trillion and 7.4 per cent GDP contribution by 2021.

With limited research, Auditor General John Muwanga said it is difficult to fully understand the range of factors that affect wildlife populations and habitats and the relationship between them.
“Catastrophic death and reduction in numbers of animals such as the Uganda Kob in Queen Elizabeth National Park and similar incidences in other parks has occurred without finding the root cause,” Mr Muwanga said.

In attempting to understand why wild animals were declining, the audit found that for the last three years, illegal activities inside the protected areas such as encroachment, especially in East Madi Wildlife Reserve and Mt. Elgon National Park, poaching and illegal harvesting of resources have significantly increased. This in a way affected the natural habitat of wildlife.
“Some species such as the black and white rhino, Derbys and Oryx have since become extinct in Uganda.” Mr Muwanga said.

The Roan and Bridget’s gazelle are some of the animals that are listed as endangered, with low populations from the last count in 1998. “These species, both combined, are less than 110 in number,” he said.

The latest findings contained in the value for money audit by the Auditor General provide further evidence that Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), a statutory body mandated to protect flora and fauna across the country, is failing to accomplish the task of preserving the remnant of the country’s endangered species.

UWA derives its mandate from the Uganda Wildlife Act 2000. The Act mandates UWA to manage all the country’s wildlife and wildlife-protected areas, which include 10 national parks and 12 wildlife reserves.

UWA is also responsible for ensuring the coordination, monitoring and supervision of the activities related to wildlife management in the country. In his defence, UWA Executive Director Andrew Sseguya told auditors that there was need for government to increase funding to UWA and create an independent wildlife research body to compliment and support its functions as is the case in other countries.

Protection plans
Currently, UWA requires about 3,300 rangers to adequately cover the entire wildlife estate in the country but at the moment has about 1,200 rangers. “UWA is currently overwhelmed by other wildlife management issues resulting in limited concentration on research as a function of management,” Dr Sseguya said.

“The Wildlife Policy under review has already identified this need and is providing for the creation of a Uganda Wildlife Research and Training Institute to address the wildlife research and training gaps in the sector.”

To ensure wildlife protection, UWA was to develop fire management plans for each protected area, have an effective ranger density to counter threats of game poaching and illegal activities in and around the protected areas, develop and maintain relevant infrastructure within the areas, protect the wildlife habitat, reduce the threat of invasive species, and enlist the support of the communities surrounding the game parks.

However, the audit established that UWA was not effectively protecting the wildlife in and around the protected areas. UWA said the total encroached area in Mt. Elgon is only 6,000 hectares and most of this is under contention with court cases and injunctions that make it difficult for UWA to address.

Once the court process is completed, UWA said all encroached areas will be reclaimed.
Meanwhile, the Auditor General observed that the animals have also become a nuisance to the local populace.

They destroy crops, kill humans and livestock. As a result, this has created conflict between the communities neighbouring the park and wildlife officials, thus hurting UWA’s community conservation initiatives.