Kenyan game on the menu
2005-11-18 10:07
Nairobi - Kenyan wildlife conservationists reacted with shocked disbelief on Thursday after reports that a Thailand zoo in a controversial wildlife swap with Kenya will offer game as part of an exotic buffet.
Media reports in Thailand on Thursday quoted Plodprasop Suraswadi, the director of the Chiang Mai Zoo, as saying that the patrons can enjoy a pricey game buffet after game viewing when the park opens on January 1.
"We have been concerned about the animal welfare aspects throughout this deal as Thailand is globally known to have a dismal animal welfare record, and we are questioning how the Kenyan Wildlife Service gave the Chiang Mai project a clean bill of health," said Elizabeth Wamba of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw).
Upset over giraffe meat
It is illegal to eat wildlife in restaurants in Kenya. Only commercially farmed crocodiles and ostriches are offered in eateries in the East African country.
"If it is illegal to eat a giraffe here, why would we want to send our giraffes to Thailand for that purpose?" added Wamba.
Kenya will export up to 137 wild animals to the Chiang Mai Night Safari Park, a pet project of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who recently visited Kenya to sign the deal.
It is not clear what type of animals the Kenyan government plans to offer Thailand, but the project's stated aims are to boost tourism in the Thai prime minister's home province of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
'Government must explain'
President Mwai Kibaki expressed the hope that Thailand would support the East African country's bid for a United Nations security council seat at the signing of the agreement with the Thai prime minister in Nairobi last week.
Richard Leakey, former head of the Kenya Wildlife Service, expressed shock at the new development in a deal, he had strongly questioned.
"If these reports are true, the government should back down from this embarrassing deal immediately while they still can," he said, calling the development "outrageous, despicable."
"The government has yet to explain what these Kenyan animals are being sent to and what the end result of the transaction really is," added Leakey.
Questions directed to the Kenyan government remained unanswered in the capital Nairobi.
- SAPA