For a lot of people, 2020 was an awful year. With Coronavirus restricting people to their homes and the weakening economy increasing the country’s unemployment rate, that’s quite true. However, despite everything that’s happened, there are still some good things that happened last year.

In Kenya, there has been no poaching in 2020.

This report is good news considering that poaching has been a huge problem in the region for years. It’s a success that didn’t come easy in the last two decades.

The Kenya Wildlife Service made the announcement on Twitter.

The organization wrote:

“For the first time in twenty-one years, KWS made headway in the fight against poaching! In-spite of the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, we reported zero rhino poaching in 2020!”

Travel restrictions helped a lot.

Because of the pandemic, a lot of countries were forced to implement strict travel restrictions. This resulted in fewer people traveling to Kenya. However, even though there were fewer people visiting the region, the organization took extra measures.

They know that if someone was serious about poaching a rhino, he wouldn’t care about quarantine protocols or even getting the virus. That’s one of the reasons why they didn’t want to rely on the restrictions alone.

John Waweru, the Director-General Brigadier of the KWS, shared:

“Without tourists I think poachers might think KWS had gone to sleep, but instead we did the reverse and enhanced our efforts.”

The organization carefully planned its approach.

The team strengthened their anti-poaching and intelligence-led operations. They also collaborated with law enforcement agencies as well as the local communities.

He added:

“We have continuously reviewed policies and strategies to include solutions to emerging issues. Indeed, I am proud of the team that I work [with] and I expect that even this year we can do it again, I don’t see the reason why we shouldn’t.”

They also implemented bettering monitoring.

They fitted horn transmitters and microchips. This action enabled them to monitor the rhinos’ movement.

Elephant poaching decreased, too.

In the last six years, elephant poaching in Kenya decreased by 91%. Better anti-poaching efforts and effective wildlife conservation strategies were key factors to this success.

In 2020, there were just 7 elephants who died at the hands of the poachers. In 2019, there were 34 while in 2018, 80 elephants died because of poaching.

Why poaching is a huge problem

Poaching can cause devastating problems for wildlife. It puts animals at risk of extinction. This leads to a disruption of the natural food chain.

Apart from that, poaching can also cause problems in a local community’s tourism industry. This is particularly true with communities that rely on their wildlife to get tourists’ attraction.

The fight isn’t over.

Despite the organization’s success, there are still risks of poachers killing more rhinos and elephants. As authorities are getting closer to creating the most effective vaccines to fight the virus, travel restrictions will soon relax. Considering this, everyone shouldn’t stop their effort. They should continue what they’re doing to stop poaching once and for all.

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Source: Live Kindly, Diply, Twitter