By Diana Rose Wairumbi
The death of the world’s last make northern white rhino – nicknamed Sudan – prompted Kenya’s tourism minister to propose life imprisonment for anyone caught in possession of ivory.
Najib Balala, while speaking at a memorial service for Sudan in the East African country’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy reiterated the need to end ivory trade.
“Ivory belongs to elephants and rhinos,” Balala said.
“We are going to change our laws so that anyone caught with ivory will be jailed for life,” he added.
Sudan was euthanized due to a rapid deterioration of his health.
In early March, the world renowned rhino developed an infection on his back leg that – combined with age-related complications – proved too much for it to overcome, rendering him unable to stand.
Sudan is survived by only two female white rhinos; his 27-year-old daughter Najin and 17-year-old granddaughter Fatu.
Thousands of southern white rhinos still roam sub-Saharan Africa, but decades of uncontrolled poaching have drastically reduced the number of northern whites. Poachers could sell northern white rhino horns for US$50,000 per kilo in the black market, making them more valuable than gold.
In the 1970s Kenya had 20,000 rhinos. This number fell to 400 in the 1990s.
The East African country now has 650 rhinos, almost all of them black rhinos.
In 2013 Kenya introduced stringent wildlife-protection laws in an attempt to stop highly profitable ivory smuggling, mainly to Asia, which has led to the slaughter of thousands of endangered and rare animals.
Those found guilty of ivory trafficking already face a life-in-prison sentence. But the minimum sentence for possessing it is five years.
