Date Published:
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director General Brigadier (Rtd) John Waweru Wednesday, 2 December, 2020 received equipment worth over Kshs. 3.7 million from African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). The equipment will go towards supporting Lake Nakuru National Park’s anti-poaching tracker unit.
Earlier this year, AWF assisted KWS to build kennels, an office store, install water tanks and solar panels for the anti-poaching canine unit at the Lake Nakuru National Park.
AWF Vice President for Species Conservation and Science , Dr. Philip Muruthi on handing over the equipment said “AWF is dedicated to ensuring that conservation work continues and gains already made are not eroded. This handover is testimony of AWF’s longstanding committed partnership with KWS. Together we shall sustain the current positive growth trend of Kenya’s rhino, elephants and recover, and stabilize declining populations of wildlife. The tracking dog program definitely keeps perpetrators at bay, both as a deterrent and via direct arrests, ensuring that our wildlife thrive, especially at such a time when resources are limited on many fronts”.
Receiving the donations, Brigadier (Rtd) John Waweru thanked AWF for its continued support of KWS programs. “We remain grateful to AWF for their unwavering support for wildlife and habitat conservation. We are particularly thankful for the support of our canine unit, which is critical in tracking wildlife traffickers and poachers. It is making a huge difference in the fight against illegal killing of our wildlife and this can be seen with decline in poaching particularly this year”, said the Director General..
The equipment handed over today included IT equipment namely: GPS sets, printer, computer Dell desktop and UPS. Furniture namely: Conference table, office chairs, steel filling cabinet. Dog equipment namely: muzzle, Harness Kongs and vet kit. Rangers’ equipment: face masks (for protection against Covid 19), Desert storm boots, camel backs, solar chargeable torches, tents and bed rolls.
The handover is part of AWF’s emergency response plan which was developed at the onset of Covid 19 pandemic for the hardest hit areas where AWF operates. Through emergency response, AWF has been able to deliver food rations, personal protective equipment (PPE’s) fuel for field vehicles and critical livelihood support for wildlife rangers and communities to continue patrols in poaching hot spots across Africa.
