Kenya's wildlife needs help

Kenyan wildlife is in danger of disappearing altogether in our lifetime, if we, Kenyans, are not careful.
In the entire country, there are only 2,100 lions left. The ones which remain face angry herdsmen, retaliating the death of their cows. They are either speared or poisoned, using Furadan. Furadan, or Carbofuran, is an insecticide produced by US based company, FMC. It is illegal in many countries, and its use is heavily controlled in the countries where it is still legal. Kenya, however, has no such control over it's use within her borders. Bottles of Furadan can be bought from almost any Agrovet anywhere in the country for a low price. A herdsman or farmer needs only to put a few of the purple pellets on a carcass to kill a lion in retaliation.
Unfortunately, it is not only lions that are affected. All predators and scavengers that take any meat from the carcass will die. This includes Black Backed Jackals, Bat Eared Foxes, Stiped and Spotted Hyaenas, all species of vultures, Black Kites, Tawny Eagles, Shrikes, Mongooses.... the list goes on.

Lion habitat is also being encroached upon. With land use changing rapidly throughout the country, much of their open ranges are being confined by fences for agriculture. The same is true for all wild animals, in fact, and, as agriculture is less compatible with wildlife than animal husbandry, the human-wildlife conflict will only increase.

With the lift of the Ivory ban recently, Kenya's elephants are in deep trouble. Despite the fact that hunting and Ivory trade are illegal within Kenya, the demand for Ivory, in markets like China, is enough incentive for poachers to start on elephants again.

Have you ever bought ivory? Do you know someone who has? Do you like the way it looks, and wish you had it on a necklace?
Here are some pleasant images to encourage you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2pC1lHSqcs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjk4Xn5y200
There are other videos. Look them up.

Recently, a vehicle carrying over 700 Kg of Ivory (probably representing 50 elephants) was stopped at the Tanzania border. The vehicle, a brand new Toyota Prado LandCruiser, is believed to be owned by someone high up in the Kenyan government. How shortsighted can our leaders be!?? Do they think that when all the wildlife in Kenya disappears, and when tourism dies, that Kenya will continue to be a strong economy? Do they think that if Kenya's economy dies and falls to civil war, they can just escape with their spoils to Europe and live the good life?
The sad part is, they probably could, and will.

Please read through the Wildlife Direct Baraza blog, to see what all is happening to Kenya's precious wildlife, and to see how you can help. http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/
Kenya's entire economy relies on the conservation of wildlife. Without wildlife, there will be no tourism. Without toursim, Kenya will disintegrate. It's that simple.