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Still No Safaris in Kenya
Country won't lift hunting ban

Reports have circulated widely for the past year that Kenya, which until the 1970s was Africa’s premier safari-hunting destination, was considering lifting its ban on hunting. Now, according to several news sources in the country, it turns out the Kenyan government has no such plans.

Vice President Moody Awori said the country should conserve wildlife because Kenya was “among few places in the world where animal species had not been depleted.” This came after Kenya received vehicles, equipment, and 10 million dollars in local currency from the notoriously anti-hunting International Fund for Animal Welfare.

"We have a responsibility to look after wildlife for the benefit of Kenyans and the whole world. There should be no sport hunting or artificial culling of the animals. Instead, we should allow nature to regulate the numbers to ensure the numbers are well-balanced with the environment and guard against climate change,” Awori said.

Others in Kenya disagree. According to Eugene LaPointe, former head of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), “Rifle-toting tourists hunting exotic animals could actually help protect Africa's vulnerable species.” He suggested that it was time to reconsider bans on hunting: "Unfortunately, most African economies are poor and wildlife conservation has to compete with many pressing demands for public money.”

Read a special report on this issue in the January 2007 issue of Sports Afield.