Thaksin's Kenya visit clouded by furore over animal shipments - AFP

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Thaksin’s Kenya visit clouded by furore over animal shipments

 

 

 

Agence France Press – Nairobi

 

 

 

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Kenya on Tuesday amid a furore

over the country’s controversial decision to send hundreds of wild animals

to a Thai zoo.

 

Thaksin, the first Thai leader to visit Kenya, will focus on improving

trade and bilateral cooperation, including negotiations on textiles and

rice, as well as on tourism development, officials said.

 

But conservationists have seized on the visit to urge Kenya to halt its

plans to send about 300 animals, including endangered species, to the Mae

Hia Safari Park in Chiang Mai province.

 

In return for the animals, Kenya will get experts on elephant training and

US$1 million (Bt41 mil¬lion) to boost conservation in the country.

 

“We are urging our government to take into consideration values other than

monetary compensation, as the latter is incidental when it comes to our

natural resources,” said James Isiche, regional director for the

International Fund for Animal Welfare.

 

The conservationists say Kenya’s justification, that it has abundant

wildlife, is flatly wrong.

 

“The reality is that wildlife pop¬ulations in Kenya are generally on the

decline due to poaching, habi¬tat loss and land use changes,” Isiche said.

 

They say Kenya will set a bad precedent if it exports its wildlife and the

move may fray the country’s key tourism sector, which has suffered in recent

years because of terrorism.

 

“By shipping wildlife to Thailand, Kenya will be setting a dangerous

precedent that may result in other requests for similar gifts from other

states,” the conservationists said.

 

“It is also self-defeating, in that Kenya is currently promoting tourism

in Asia while giving away wildlife to Thailand may discourage Asian tourists

from coming here.”

 

In addition to meeting Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, Thaksin yesterday

went on safari in the worldfamous Masai Mara before returning to the capital

for an official banquet.

 

Thaksin is scheduled to leave Kenya for Ankara today, where he will visit

the Union of Chamber and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey. He will also meet

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, followed by a wreathlaying ceremony at Ataturk

monument.

 

Thaksin will also have talks with his Turkish counterpart Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

 

The two countries are to sign agreements on tourism, science and technology

and a cultural exchange programme.