Three arrested in Narok for game meat possession

By KIPCHUMBA KEMEI

NAROK COUNTY: Three employees of two tented camps in Maasai Mara Game Reserve have been arrested for being in possession of about 6,000 kilogrammes of giraffe meat.

The workers, a security guard and two cooks, working for the camps located on the eastern side of the reserve were arrested Monday by Narok County rangers and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) personnel.

County Senior Warden James Sindiyo said the giraffe was killed in Siana Conservancy on Sunday, adding that those who killed escaped the dragnet.

“We seized the meat inside the two camps and arrested the three employees. Those who killed it escaped but we are still looking for them,” said Sindiyo who asked area residents to help apprehend them.

He said the meat would have been served to their guests, adding that there are several tourist establishments in the reserve that serve their guests with wild animals’ meat. Sindiyo said if the thriving trade and trafficking of game meat is not stopped the number of wild animals will dwindle and asked for assistance from the police.

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“These animals play a big role in the tourism sector. If they are left at the mercy of poachers, they will be wiped out,” he said

The trio will be arraigned in court today. Police have in the past seized game meat in transit on the Narok-Mai Mahiu road.

Three weeks ago 650kgs of zebra meat were seized on the said road.

Sindiyo said that rangers and personnel from KWS were still looking for herdsmen who killed six hyenas inside the park during the Easter weekend using poison.

“We will continue hunting for them until they are ultimately brought to justice. We have important leads that might lead to their arrests,” he said.

A team of KWS veterinarians led by Dr Campaign Limo of the University of Nairobi took samples of the hyenas’ stomach contents and tissues for analysis.