First Lady launches campaign to save elephants

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has launched a campaign to save elephants.

The drive, dubbed “Hands off our Elephants”, seeks to educate Kenyans and the world on the need to conserve the elephant for posterity.

Mrs Kenyatta also launched the Kenya premier screening of the documentary Battle for the Elephants.

The new film exposes the brutal ivory trade and its effect on Africa and Kenya’s elephant population.

Speaking during the launch of the campaign at a Nairobi hotel on Saturday evening, the First Lady called on all Kenyans and friends of Kenya to play a role in stopping poaching.

She said wildlife, including elephants, are the country’s future and need to be preserved.

The First Lady said elephants are also a major tourist attraction for the country.

Through tourism, she added, the government earns revenue amounting to Sh120 billion annually.

Mrs Kenyatta said ivory trade threatened more than 300,000 jobs in the country, with millions of other direct and indirect beneficiaries from tourism being affected.

“The statistics are alarming! Currently, our elephant population in Kenya has reduced to stand at approximately 30,000. Note that over 183 elephants have been slaughtered this year. And we are only in July!” said the First Lady.

She added: “How can we stand by while one of the world’s most amazing species is driven to extinction? This is a recipe for instability and poverty, and the very stability of our beloved nation will be threatened”.

She called on Kenyans and conservationists to pool resources towards stopping the rise in elephant poaching in the country.

“Unless this crisis is averted, in 10 years there will be no wild elephants left in Kenya! My own grandchildren will never see wild elephants if the trend continues,” she said. (PSCU)