WILDLIFEDIRECT

NEWSLETTER
END
OF
YEAR

2014

WWW. WI L D L I FED I R E CT.O R G

MESSAGE

WORD FROM
THE CEO

e have had a great run this year here at

WildlifeDirect. Although it was not all
easy, 2014 was good year for us. We
grew in size as an organisation- (from
3 members of staff last year to 10
today), built major partnerships, and
hosted and participated in events that
played a key role in global and national
campaigns to save elephants and rhinos. Throughout the year our efforts
were focused around our flagship campaign, Hands Off Our Elephants.
We are honoured to have Her Excellency the First Lady Margaret
Kenyatta as patron of this campaign, which puts WildlifeDirect in the
forefront of efforts to raise public awareness about the crisis facing elephants here in Kenya. Our success in the last year was because we were
willing to take on some very challenging issues. We have also not been
shy. The campaign has been bold and creative in reaching the hearts and
minds of Kenyans, so that they, like us, can fall in love with the magnificent elephants of Kenya.

Such small but

significant gestures
motivate us to keep
doing what we do.

The key motivations that have driven our campaign are to stop the
poaching of elephants, to stop the supply and trafficking of ivory, and to
stop the demand for ivory. Our aim is to mobilise people to take action
and get involved in protecting and conserving elephants.
The campaign is really catching wind and it is very exciting. Our hearts
are warmed by the positive response we have received from people of all
walks of life: from school children and mama mbogas in the marketplaces to politicians and business leaders. In the corporate sector, organizations have pledged their support, such as the Cooperative Bank, who
donated money to us and pledged to make elephant conservation a key
CSR project in their calendar
This is our first, we hope, of many newsletters. The pages here detail the
work that we have done in the last year and what we have achieved. In
subsequent issues, we shall update you on major projects and exciting
events that we have planned for the coming year. This year, elephants
have been under constant pressure and the world was saddened and
outraged by the murder of two great tuskers, Satao and Mountain Bull.
We ask you to consider partnering with us to make 2015 a better year
for elephants, not in Kenya but all over Africa. Join us in standing up
for them and saying: Hands Off Our Elephants.

DR. PAULA KAHUMBU

WILDLIFEDIRECT

WILDLIFEDIRECT

NEWS

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS

t WildlifeDirect we are thrilled at the

amount of support and encouragement
that we received throughout the year. Most
importantly, we are deeply grateful to Her
Excellency the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta for her
support as the patron of our campaign Hands Off Our
Elephants.
Other friends and well-known personalities who have
joined our cause in one way or the other include the Chief
Justice Willy Mutunga, the American ambassador to Kenya
Bob Godec, British High Commissioner Christian Turner,
Hip Hop artist Juliani, singer songwriter Eric Wainaina,
super model Ajuma Nasenyana and TV host Julie Gichuru,
among many others. Thank you all for your support and
demonstrating your love for elephants.

New Report Says Ivory Trade Worse in China

The wholesale price of raw tusks has tripled in just four years since
2010! This is according to a new report released in early December,
written by Esmond Martin and Lucy Vigne and published by Save
the Elephants and the Aspinall Foundation. The report painted a
grim picture of just how the trade in ivory has exploded in China
over the last few years to an even greater extent than previously
thought. Skyrocketing demand for ivory in China has sparked
a booming trade in smuggled ivory which in turn is driving the
killing of elephants. China holds the future of Africas elephants in
her hands, said Iain Douglas Hamilton of Save the Elephants.
In an article written after the release of this report, WildlifeDirect
CEO Dr Paula Kahumbu argued that while China needs to do more
to curb the domestic trade in ivory, African leadership is needed
to end the poaching and trafficking of ivory out of Africa and into
Asia.
Although Chinese action is essential to save Africas elephants, the
leadership should come from Africa. While China may face a conservation challenge as stated in the title of the report, it is Africas
elephants that are facing extinction, wrote Dr Kahumbu.

WLD Welcomes Philip Murgor to the Board.

The renowned Kenyan lawyer Philip Murgor was appointed as
Chairman of WildlifeDirect Kenya board in early November. His
wealth of legal experience gained over two decades will greatly
strengthen the organisation. This includes extensive experience
of both local and international litigation, formerly as a State
Counsel, then as Kenyas Director of Public Prosecutions, and
currently as the managing partner of Murgor and Murgor Advocates..
WildlifeDirect is committed and dedicated to changing laws
and peoples behaviour and attitudes related to wildlife crime in
Kenya and throughout Africa. Currently, we are conducting a
study into the enforceability of the 2013 Wildlife Conservation
and Management Act in relation to wildlife trafficking crimes
in Kenya. Philip Murgors active participation in this review
will contribute to the enforcement of anti-trafficking laws not
only in Kenya but also internationally, as, as the Hands Off Our
Elephants campaign extends its activities across the African
continent.

WILDLIFEDIRECT

Go to this site to read the full article: http://www.theguardian.com/

environment/africa-wild/2014/dec/09/china-must-act-but-africa-take-thelead-in-stopping-ivory-trade

Court Monitoring by WildlifeDirect Team

Interpol Issues Red Notice Alert for Feisal Mohamed Ali

Interpol, the worlds largest international police organisation, has
issued a red notice alert for the Kenyan Feisal Ali Mohamed. This
is Interpols highest level of alert and equivalent to an international
warrant of arrest.
Feisal Ali Mohamed, a suspected ivory trafficker, has been a
fugitive from the law since early June this year, when an arrest
warrant was issued against him by the Kenya Police. The warrant
was issued in connection to the seizure of 228 tusks and 74 ivory
pieces, together weighing well over two tonnes, at a motor vehicle
warehouse in the coastal city of Mombasa. During the seizure, two
men were arrested but Feisal Ali Mohamed, who is believed to be
the ringleader, escaped arrest and has been on the run ever since.

At the beginning of September, five legal interns came on board

to undertake a study of processes and outcomes of ongoing cases
on wildlife trials in Kenyan courts since the enactment of the
Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (2013) in January
2014. The team has gathered information from 33 magistrate
courts in Kenya and, so far, analysed and documented 127 cases
involving wildlife crime that occurred between 1 January and 1
September 2014. WildlifeDirect legal affairs manager Elizabeth
Gitari explained why this process is important: Escalating Wildlife crime has become a major threat to the survival of iconic
wildlife species in Kenya.
WildlifeDirect seeks to support the governments ambitious
efforts to reform wildlife law enforcement in Kenya as a major
mechanism to deter wildlife crime and secure elephant populations. The data collected from the cases will assist us in identifying opportunities to improve management of wildlife crimes
within our judicial system, by detecting bottlenecks within the
judicial system and also in the police arrest and investigations
procedures.

WildlifeDirect and 400 other Kenyans signed a petition in August

this year to urge the Kenya Police to make good the arrest warrant
issued against Feisal. The petition was presented to the Inspector General David Kimaiyo by the WildlifeDirect CEO, Dr Paula
Kahumbu, on 12 August.
Dr Paula Kahumbu said that it was very encouraging that the
Kenyan government was taking wildlife crimes seriously. We are
aware that Interpol issues these notices at the request of member
states, and we are happy that the Kenya Police has taken this important step to bring Feisal to book. The ivory that Feisal is accused
of dealing in probably came from numerous countries across Africa, not only from Kenya. The volume seized represented the
killing of hundreds of elephants.

CS Wakhungu Calls for Destruction of Kenyas Ivory Stockpiles

In November, the cabinet secretary for the Environment, water
and natural resources Judi Wakhungu, was quoted in the media as
having voiced her support to have Kenyas ivory stockpiles destroyed
to prevent them from ever getting back into the market.
After the disappearance of ivory worth US$1.1million from a
government vault in Uganda, in mid November, WildlifeDirect was
pleased with the announcement from the cabinet secretary. For his
part, the chairman Philip Murgor said that Kenya had demonstrated leadership and courage to go against the grain in the late 1980s,
when the then president Daniel Moi destroyed 12 tonnes of ivory in
order to motivate the world to end trade in ivory. This bold move
worked in the 90s. Elephant numbers began to rise across the continent. It can work again, and the current trend of 35,000 elephants
killed every year in Africa can be reversed. We are very pleased that
the current leadership appreciates the significance of destroying
ivory stockpiles.

Nairobi Walks the Talk for Elephants and Rhinos

Over 1500 men and women, young and old, showed up for the
count and joined the Nairobi edition of the Global March for
Elephants and Rhinos, on Saturday 4 October 2014. Dr Paula
Kahumbu, CEO of WildlifeDirect and of the HandsOffOurElephants campaign was there with a team of staff and volunteers.
WildlifeDirect was one of the organisers of the Global March in
Nairobi. WildlifeDirect was directly involved in fundraising for
the march and thanks all the sponsors and partners who came on
board to make this day a success.
Among those present on the march was the Chief Registrar of
the Judiciary, Anne Amadi. She said that the Kenyan judiciary
was committed to enforcing the law: We are going to make sure
that anybody who is brought before the courts for anything connected with violation of our animals are going to be dealt with.
So that is why I am here and I am really happy.
For more information: http://events.wildlifedirect.org/2014/10/
07/nairobi-walks-the-talk-for-elephants-and-rhinos/

WILDLIFEDIRECT

OUR PARTNERSHIPS

TEAM BUILDING WITH CO-OP BANK

internationally. Ksh. 1,000 was donated to the Hands Off our Elephants
campaign for every VIP ticket bought.

They came in two buses: about 120 members of staff from the Innovation and Customer support division of the Co-operative Bank, to spend
the day with the WildlifeDirect team and learn about elephants. It was
planned as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and team-building
event for the banks staff. It ended up being much more!
Dr Paula Kahumbu started off the day by making a presentation, with
facts and statistics about elephants and the poaching crisis in Kenya.
Then the team watched the National Geographic film, Battle for the
Elephants.

WHY WE MUST NOT TIRE

After watching the film, it was time to meet some real elephants, at the
David Sheldricks Centre for orphaned elephants at the Nairobi National
Park. Naturally, the Co-op Bank is interested in elephants: they have an
elephant on their Visa cards and they have a special childrens account
called the Jumbo account. But for most in the team this was the first
time they had seen real-life elephants!
To show their appreciation of this great experience the Bank adopted one of the elephants at the centre, Baby Mbegu, and donated Ksh.
150,000 to WildlifeDirect. Even more importantly, the bank pledged to
make elephant conservation a long term CSR commitment.
WildlifeDirect is committed to working with the private sector and
recognises the huge role it has to play in building a national coalition to
save elephants and rhinos and conserve our natural heritage.

AMARULA AND NAKUMATT PARTNERS WITH

WILDLIFEDIRECT IN THE SAVE OUR ICON
CAMPAIGN
In November leading African cream liquor Amarula, in partnership
with Nakumatt Supermarket, launched a two-month campaign,
#SaveOurIcon, which gives Amarula consumers and wildlife lovers the
opportunity to give back towards elephant conservation.
The campaign aims to raise 2 million Ksh for Hands Off Our Elephants.
For every purchase of an Amarula bottle at any Nakumatt outlet, 10% of
the value will be donated to Hands Off Our Elephants campaign.

NAIROBI FASHION WEEK

The Nairobi Fashion Week 2014 selected the Hands Off Our Elephants
campaign as an official charity partner. The Nairobi Fashion Week uses
its influence within the industry to create awareness and raise funds for
vital causes every year.
In November 2014, managers, designers and models at the Nairobi
Fashion Week, along with and other fashion industry players, took
a stand against elephant poaching and the use of ivory in clothing
and accessories, in an event that received wide coverage locally and

WILDLIFEDIRECT

In 2014, Kenya suffered a double blow with the death of two of its
treasured tuskers, Satao and Mountan Bull. Satao was considered the
largest elephant in Kenya, and possibly the world, and lived in the Tsavo
East National Park in southeast Kenya. Satao was about 45 years old, at
the time of his death. He was killed by a poachers poisoned arrow on
30 May 2014 but his carcass was not discovered until 2 June. His tusks
were 2 meters long.
Another great tusker, Mountain Bull, weighing about 5443 kg, was also
killed in 2014. He was 46 years old when a poachers spear hit him mid
May, deep inside Mount Kenya Forest. He is believed to have come
there from northern Kenya in the 1970s.
He had survived an attempt on his life for his huge tusks before that left
eight bullets lodged in his body and in 2012, a third of his tusks were
sawn off to deter poachers. This was evidently not enough to deter his
killers from striking him down.
Sadly, in both cases, the killers could not be apprehended as they were
long gone before the carcases were discovered.

THE THREAT TO TIM - #KEEPTIMALIVE

Another big tusker is in danger. Tim, who lives in the Amboseli, was
discovered with a spear wound on his back in mid-November. Luckily,
he was spotted by WildlifeDirect board members, who were at the Amboseli National Park for their annual meeting. Then it was all systems go
as they rushed to make calls to save Tim. Within 24 hours, a team from
the Kenya Wildlife Services had treated Tim and thankfully ruled him
out of danger.
But the threat remains. A WLD board member donated USD 25,000 to
keep Tim alive. We cannot afford to lose Tim in the way we lost Satao
and Mountain Bull. However little it may be, each one of us should so all
we can do to keep Tim alive. We can raise money, and we can also raise
awareness on our social media networks using the Hashtags
#KeepTimAlive and #Fight4Tim.

You can contribute to the campaign by making a donation via

MPesa Paybill No. 917856, Account No. 0 or through our website
wildlifedirect.org. The money will be used to pay for veterinary
care and round-the-clock surveillance in Amboseli National Park.

WILDLIFEDIRECT

CONTACT US
FACEBOOK.com/HandsOffOurElephants
TWITTER @wildlifedirect
MPESA: Paybill 917856 , Account No. 0
ADDRESS: Karen Connection, Lower
Plains road, office 98, Nairobi, Kenya.