Nairobi: Thousands of Kenyans on Saturday took to Nairobi's streets to demand greater measures be taken to protect wildlife and to curtail the trade in ivory and other animal products.
According to Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Najib Balala, the march was organised to campaign for the proposals that Kenya aims to put forward during the upcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Sri Lanka in May.
Speaking during the march, Balala said that top priorities at the meeting will be to seek to end trade in ivory and to regulate trade in giraffe products.
Several African countries with some of the world's largest elephant populations earlier this year pushed for looser controls on legal ivory trade, while another group of countries have said more restrictions are the best way to curb the illegal killing of elephants for their tusks.
The dueling proposals reflect divisions within Africa over how to safeguard a species that has been killed in massive numbers by poachers over the past decade and to what extent elephant parts, including ivory, skin and hair, can be sustainably traded as commodities.
They pit southern African countries including Botswana and Zimbabwe that say commerce will help them pay to conserve elephants against Kenya, Gabon and others that believe even limited trade fuels demand and drives up illegal killing.
Paula Kahumbu, wildlife conservationist and the CEO of charity organisation WildlifeDirect took part in Saturday's march to voice her opposition to global demand for African animal products.
"This demand for endangered species products to make tonics to boost the health and vigor of people in Asia is killing our animals," she said.
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"We must fight for our animals," she added.
Proposals will be discussed when member countries of CITES meet on May 23-June 3 in Colombo.
