Kenya Wildlife Massive Recruitment Of 6,000 Rangers to Fight Poaching

Kenya Wildlife Director-General William Kiprono has announced his organization will recruit 6,000 new rangers to boost efforts of wildlife protection in national parks and game reserves at a cost of Ksh 300 million.

“Shortage of rangers has been one of the challenges that the organization is facing,” Mr. Kiprono explained the move. The recruitment, he said, will work hand in hand with the newly-implemented Wildlife Act that has seen a decrease in poaching with the emphasis now being placed on enforcing the law. He added that another Ksh 300 million has been requested for the use of tagging the endangered rhinos.

Rhino poaching has been on the rise in national parks across Kenya including Lake Nakuru National Park, Maasai Mara Game Reserve and other private game conservancies. Consequently, these challenges have forced KWS to reach out to private security agencies for assistance.

Apart from hiring additional staff, KWS is also planning on employing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles commonly known as drones to boost surveillance in the parks. The rangers’ recruitment exercise is scheduled to begin as soon as the National Treasury releases the funds to KWS.