Kenya has 140 tonnes of ivory stockpile: Audit

Nairobi, Sep 17: Kenya has nearly 140 tonnes of stockpile of elephant ivory and rhino horn, an audit report said.

Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources Judy Wakhungu said on Wednesday the National Elephant and Rhino Stockpiles Inventory teams were able to count 25,052 pieces of ivory weighing 137.7 tonnes and 1,248 pieces of rhino horns whose weigh was 1.52 tonnes, Xinhua reported.

Wakhungu said the cataloging exercise confirmed that systems put in place by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for the management and storage of trophies are robust, and with minimal adjustments, will meet the highest required international standards for management of such high-value products.

"Kenya will put in place strong systems to enhance security and management of Kenya's trophy stockpile," she told journalists in Nairobi. She said Kenya will destroy all ivory stockpiles before the end of the year.

The authorities kicked off digital inventory and DNA sampling of the country's ivory and rhino horn stocks on July 21 as a part of efforts to comply with Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) convention.

The inventory is due to form the basis for future national audits in an effort to managing wildlife in the country.

IANS