Born Free

Hello all! My name is Elsie Kariuki and I coordinate Born Free’s de-snaring and anti-poaching project in Kenya. Kindly follow the link below for a brief introduction of the project

http://www.bornfree.org.uk/born-free-kenya/community-projects/de-snaring-community-project/

And then read on to get a glimpse into a day in the life of the young conservationists who join us to turn their passion into action. Karibu!

There is always talk about the illegal bush meat trade in and outside conservation circles and many of the volunteers come armed with all sorts of information, from their teachers, from those they know working in conservation, from books and materials they read and even the Media.

However, it is not until these young people experience the gruelling 15 kilometre walk through the bush, hour after hour in the oppressive eastern Kenya heat searching for the often elusive snares;

It is not until the find their first live snare and measure the diameter of its noose, its height from the ground and thickness of wire used to establish what animal is targeted, and then remove it knowing that they have at least saved one animal.

Its not until they stand next to the carcass of a zebra and see its wide open eyes already gorged by vultures, or feel its warm body full of life barely an hour ago and feel the despair of the possibility that maybe, just maybe they could have gotten there in time;

It is not until they see bicycle tire tracks or footprints in the dust and feel the frustration of knowing  that the poachers have gotten away yet again, or hear from the herdsmen tending their cattle in the bush that the poachers were spotted taking away bloody sacks ; it is not until they have to remove ticks stuck onto their bodies when they take a well deserved shower at the end of the day; or until they have their evening meal by the fire where they listen and reflect on the day’s experiences, from the novice who’s only just began his journey to the KWS ranger with over 20 years of experience they share tales of triumph and of despair; it is not until have to get up early the next morning, their muscles still aching from the previous day’s activities and brace themselves for another hard day’s work…

It’s only then that they fully realize the severity of the illegal bush meat trade. It is only then that they realize that by volunteering to be part of the de-snaring team, they make a significant contribution towards protecting threatened species, stopping individual animal suffering and keeping Kenya’s wildlife in the wild.

Reader’s Note:
The Born Free Foundation would like to thank the nearly 150 students from 12 different institutions affiliated with Wildlife Clubs of Kenya who have served as volunteers in this project. Their efforts have led to the recovery 1335 snares within a period of 49 project days. 929 of the snares were live, whereas 509 snares had already been ‘successfully’ used by the poachers. They have indeed saved countless wild animals by removing the snares and sometimes rescuing animals trapped in them.

With additional funding from our supporters we hope to continue providing these young enthusiastic students the chance to get actively involved in conservation; to increase their knowledge and most importantly help conserve Kenya’s wildlife.

Donate here at Wildlife Direct stating that you are donating to help the work of Born Free Kenya or visit http://www.bornfree.org.uk/shop/acatalog/Donations.html for the Born Free Kenya special appeal.