Three poachers have been shot dead by wildlife troopers after sneaking into a national park in Kenya.
The armed poachers, said to be from Uganda, illegally entered Mount Elgon National Park on Wednesday and tried to kill elephants and steal their tusks.
A shootout ensued between the men and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers, who are in charge of protecting the animals. While three of the poachers were killed, another two were injured but escaped, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said.
'The officers were on routine patrol inside the park when they encountered five poachers, two of whom were armed,' KWS said in a statement. A fierce shootout ensued and three of the poachers were gunned down while two others escaped.
Poaching has declined sharply in Kenya from a peak in 2012 but it remains a problem, with some 69 elephants and nine rhinos killed last year. More than 33,000 elephants are poached each year, which equates to one every 20 minutes.
Despite a ban on the international trade in ivory in 1997, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers. Their tusks are the most sought after, with the ivory being carved into ornaments and jewellery. China is the biggest consumer market for the tusks
Earlier this month, three rhinos were found dead with their horns missing in Meru National Park's Rhino Sanctuary, in what Kenya's tourism ministry said was an act of poaching.
Three months earlier, a prominent American investigator of the illegal ivory and rhino horn trade was found dead in his Nairobi home with a stab wound in his neck.
A conservation group said Esmond Bradley-Martin, who had spent decades tracking the movement of animal products from Africa to markets in Asia, was about to publish a report exposing how the ivory trade had shifted from China to neighbouring countries.
The armed poachers, said to be from Uganda, illegally entered Mount Elgon National Park on Wednesday and tried to kill elephants and steal their tusks.
A shootout ensued between the men and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers, who are in charge of protecting the animals. While three of the poachers were killed, another two were injured but escaped, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said.
'The officers were on routine patrol inside the park when they encountered five poachers, two of whom were armed,' KWS said in a statement. A fierce shootout ensued and three of the poachers were gunned down while two others escaped.
Poaching has declined sharply in Kenya from a peak in 2012 but it remains a problem, with some 69 elephants and nine rhinos killed last year. More than 33,000 elephants are poached each year, which equates to one every 20 minutes.
Despite a ban on the international trade in ivory in 1997, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers. Their tusks are the most sought after, with the ivory being carved into ornaments and jewellery. China is the biggest consumer market for the tusks
Earlier this month, three rhinos were found dead with their horns missing in Meru National Park's Rhino Sanctuary, in what Kenya's tourism ministry said was an act of poaching.
Three months earlier, a prominent American investigator of the illegal ivory and rhino horn trade was found dead in his Nairobi home with a stab wound in his neck.
A conservation group said Esmond Bradley-Martin, who had spent decades tracking the movement of animal products from Africa to markets in Asia, was about to publish a report exposing how the ivory trade had shifted from China to neighbouring countries.
That's a good start.
made my day....look where greed got them....DEAD
I agree it's a great start
Reload and catch some more. Don't stop until each and every one of these evil,despicable monsters are no more
Strap their dead bodies to the fences as a warning to other poachers!
get as many as you can
All poachers should be shot dead on the spot, kill as many as you can.
Hunt down the two who escaped, and execute them on the spot, as they do to the animals.
wow I was so happy when I read this and I don't feel bad about either
Them are good eating! Can feed an entire village!
Schiet ze allemaal overhoop die vuile stropers ,en een bom op China !.
Fantastic, kill these poachers on sight! More elephants=less poaching!
That's great. Keep up the great job Rangers !! May you continue to protect the animals from poachers
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May God bless and be with you all.
No sympathy for these greedy savages.
Great! NOW TO VAPORIZE ALL THE REST OF THEM WHO KNOWINGLY SLAUGHTER ENDANGERED ANIMALS. .
Justice has been served.
Get rid of all the selfish,greedy,greedy poachers please! They don't deserve to even see a beautiful elephant!
Hire more Rangers so the odds are hire on Poachers -- let them be shot 1 every 20 minutes!!
WIPE OUT THE POACHERS. GET THEM TO SAY WHO PAID THEM. FOLLOW THE MONEY TO THE TOP. GET 'EM ALL.
I LOVE ELEPHANTS!!!!!
This great, it is called Karma. I loved it last month when the Lions ate three poachers. Tell them to find another kind of work.
I wish they would kill the poachers, if they are armed, on site and pull all their teeth and post pictures of them all around the reserve for others to see what happends when you kill, you get killed.End of problem.
Another reason to wipe China of the face of the earth. Look at the state of the world right now.
Kill all of Clients. Without Clientsno Proacher it gives.....After kill Clients kill the rest of Proachers....this is the best solution