KWS operation to drive livestock out of park

By Renson Mnyamwezi

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has launched ground and air operation to flush out illegal herders in the expansive Tsavo National Park in Taita-Taveta County.

The conservation body on Thursday arrested 32 herders and detained more than 1,200 head of cattle.

The park, regarded as the largest ecosystem in the country, has of late been hit by livestock incursion from outside the region.

“We’ve arrested 32 illegal herders at Ndara and Dakata areas in the  Tsavo East National Park. We’re spending millions of shillings in the operation to rid the ecosystem of cattle invasion,” said Tsavo Conservation Area Assistant Director Wilson Korir.

The arrest brings to 40 the number of illegal herders arrested and about 4,000 cattle detained in the past two weeks.

complaints

Mr Korir said tourists visiting the park have been complaining that they had been seeing more livestock that wildlife, an issue that was not only adversely affecting tourism activities but also revenue collection.

“It has become a vicious circle as the same people we arrested last week are the same arrested on Thursday. We’re now looking for the livestock owners as the only measure to address the situation,” said Korir.

Speaking to The Standard, the director said the conservation body has so far spent more than Sh7 million to drive out livestock from the park in the past two weeks.

He said the conservation body has applied for a court order to dispose of the detained livestock after its owners failed to collect the animals.

He at the same time warned that anyone found encroaching in the park would be arrested and prosecuted.

“The park is now under 24-hour surveillance and we’ll not allow anybody to trespass and interfere with it,” he said.

The chairman of the Taita-Taveta Ranchers Association Bongosa Mcharo and a conservationist Donald Mombo accused the Ministry of Livestock Development officials of failing to control huge influx of livestock from outside the region.

“Livestock traders from outside have been driving livestock from outside into the area with the full knowledge of Government officials,” warned Mr Mombo.

Mr Mcharo said uncontrolled livestock from other parts of the country has created conflicts with local herders and should be checked.