The United Nation Development Program (UNDP) has responded to concerns raised by Tourism CS Najib Balala over an advertisement it ran in the local dailies.
The published notice included a section that implied a call for proposal by UNDP would allow participants to consume endangered wildlife.
As a result, The East African Wildlife Society Executive Director Nancy Ogonje wrote a protest letter to Balala who in turn sought clarification from UNDP.
UNDP clarified that the advert was being run in 45 countries, some who support sustainable consumption.
The agency regretted not customising the advert for different target regions and countries to avoid misinterpretation.
“UNDP Kenya does not promote wildlife consumption. It is unfortunate that sections of the advert requesting proposals that do not apply to Kenya (as this is a call targeting 45 countries) may lead to misinterpretation.
“The misunderstanding is highly regretted. UNDP will make revisions to the call for proposals to ensure clarity among all the partners. The revised call will be disseminated in early January 2021,” read the letter signed by Walid Badawi, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kenya.
According to the Wildlife (Conservation and Management) Act, it is illegal to hunt any game animal unless authorised by Kenya Wildlife Service.
“Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act or the rules, any person who hunts any protected animal; or any game animal otherwise than as the holder of, and in accordance with any conditions attaching to, a game licence authorising him to hunt that animal, shall be guilty of a forfeiture offence,” reads the Act.
The sale of any game meat was banned in Kenya in 2004 because of poaching concerns forcing game meat outlets to restrict themselves to selling crocodile and ostrich meat whose sale remains open.
The poaching concern led to the ban on the sale or import of game meat despite constant lobbying by restaurants.
