First Lady Margaret Kenyatta is in London where the Duke of Cambridge Prince William and the Duke of Sussex Prince Harry officially opened the conference on illegal wildlife trade.
Speaking at the 4th conference on illegal wildlife trade in London, the First Lady said that Kenya is committed to eradicating the trade of illegal wildlife. She added that ever since the Kenyan government put in proactive anti-poaching measures, there has been a decline in poaching.
Affirmed Kenya’s leadership and commitment to eradicate illegal trade in wildlife across the world, when I joined Heads of State and Government during the fourth Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade at the Battersea Evolution in London, United Kingdom #IWT #EndWildlifeCrime pic.twitter.com/QjCj03gCRM
— The First Lady Kenya (@FirstLadyKenya) October 11, 2018
According to Mrs. Kenyatta, the burning of ivory and rhino horns has helped eliminate the market and significantly reduced the demand for illegal wildlife trophies.
“We have found it to be an impactful technique to deter the poaching of elephants and suppressing the illegal ivory trade. Since 1989 to date, Kenya has destroyed a total of 137 tonnes of ivory and 1.5 tonnes of rhino horns.”
Emphasized Kenya’s determination to eliminate markets and reduce demand for illegal wildlife trophies through the burning of ivory and rhino stockpiles. Since 1989 to date, Kenya has destroyed a total of 137 tonnes of ivory and 1.5 tonnes of rhino horns #IWT #EndWildlifeCrime pic.twitter.com/bdKeGFz9qM
— The First Lady Kenya (@FirstLadyKenya) October 11, 2018
Mrs. Kenyatta said that Kenya is home to some of the world’s most iconic species of wildlife and therefore, her participation in the global conference provides an opportunity to strengthen the country’s dedication to eradicate illegal wildlife trade and find solutions to protect wildlife.
Our elephant population currently stands at over 34,000 while the rhino population stands at over 1,000. These are the fourth and third largest country populations in the world respectively #IWT #EndWildlifeCrime pic.twitter.com/r2AVhQCTVu
— The First Lady Kenya (@FirstLadyKenya) October 11, 2018
Prince William in his speech, commended the conservation work in Kenya and other African countries.
“I recently visited Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia and I saw the tremendous work in wildlife conservation.” he said.
Prince William referred to the illegal wildlife trade as an economic crime against humanity and the future and should be treated as such.
Prince William says he is not prepared to tell his children that elephants, rhinos and tigers had become extinct "on our watch". pic.twitter.com/FQKnNwHkKI
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 11, 2018
“I for one, am not willing to look my children in the eye and say that we are the generation that let this happen on our watch.” said the Duke of Cambridge while referring to the possibility of the extinction of rhinos, elephants and tigers in the near future.
The conference which will run for two days, 11th and 12th October. Mrs. Kenyatta is in attendance with the Kenyan delegation which includes Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala among other world leaders and key stake holders in wildlife conservation.