Kenya is planning to reintroduce sale of game meat after 14 year ban even as numbers of wildlife dwindles
Before the ban, Carnivore had been selling game meat since it was established in the early 1980s, and thousands of game meat enthusiasts used to trooped to the facility for the delicacy.
Tourism secretary for tourism Najib Balala said that his ministry will undertake research over the next year on farming of game ahead of the re-introduction.
“We must benefit from this (game) resource, my team is working on it and definitely we will encourage the farming of wildlife and then we will have availability of game meat being sold in our restaurants and our hotels,” he said during the opening of Tamarind Tree Hotel in Nairobi.
Kenyan banned sale of game meat save for of ostrich and crocodile in 2004 but restaurants, including the Carnivore, have been lobbying the government to lift the ban..
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Before the ban, Carnivore had been selling game meat since it was established in the early 1980s, and thousands of game meat enthusiasts used to troop to the facility for the delicacy.
The restaurant once famed for game meat is now more of an events-hosting entertainment facility to compensate for the lossess.
Also read: Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala moves to put a stop of the 'monkey business' in Murang'a County
Killing of wildlife for sport was introduced in Kenya in 1910, but was banned in 1977 when the number of certain species fell drastically.
The poaching concern led to the ban on the sale or import of game meat despite constant lobbying by restaurants.
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Wildlife species that have significantly declined and are critically threatened in Kenya include elephants, rhinos, Grevy Zebra, bongos, lions and cheetahs, among others. Some are hunted in conflict, for game meat and trophies.
There are only 30 Sable antelopes in Kenya currently, 3,765 Grevy zebras and less than 2,000 lions, according to KWS latest data.
The numbers are set to keep dropping if these animals are not protected.
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