Kenya at the crossroads: it’s time to root out the elites who control wildlife crime
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/africa-wild/2014/jun/06/kenya-at-crossroads-time-to-root-out-wildlife-crime-elites
The announcement of the seizure on Thursday (June 5th) of more than 200 elephant tusks in a motor vehicle warehouse in Mombasa was a rude but necessary awakening for us in Kenya.
This huge haul, following a tipoff to local police authorities, confirms Mombasas pivotal role as a transit point for smuggling ivory out of Africa.
The photographs show some gigantic tusks, undoubtedly from Kenyas greatest tuskers. One enormous tusk in particular stood out; it can surely be linked to an individual elephant.
These can only have come from killing fields in Kenyas flagship National Parks, like Tsavo, Marsabit, Samburu and Masai Mara.The last refuges for these magnificent animals are no longer safe havens, and are under siege by increasingly well-armed and equipped poachers.