Kenya beating wildlife crime

2005-07-19 12:47

Nairobi - The international police organisation Interpol has awarded Kenya its first-ever award for fighting wildlife crime by using a new system to report seizures of contraband flora and fauna, officials said on Tuesday.

The best practice award, presented to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) last month, lauds the agency for its use of "Eco-message", a standardised system of reporting violations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), they said.

"Interpol is pleased to honour our deserving colleagues for demonstrating how the new Eco-message initiative helps combat the burgeoning industry in wildlife crime," Interpol president Jackie Selebi said in a statement.

"Quickly routing critical crime-related data to the right agencies around the world will help officers stop this illegal trade which kills thousands of endangered animals each year and causes needless suffering for countless more."

Rich rewards

The award includes a prize worth $30 000 in equipment and training and is intended to encourage information sharing "about important seizures of rare, endangered or illegally traded plants and animals", Interpol said.

In recent years, KWS personnel have won accolades for slashing incidents of poaching of elephants and rhinos in the East African nation as well as confiscating illicit ivory and rhino horn and illegally captured endangered species.

Eco-message, created by the 182-member Interpol last year in collaboration with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, allows real-time access to wildlife crime information among international law enforcement agencies.

The award to the KWS was announced during Interpol's fifth international conference on environmental crime held at its Lyon headquarters in June.

- AFP