I hope my posting this now (as the country is torn apart by riots) doesn't seem unkind, but I believe that the points I raise could be part of the (positive) restructuring of the country.

Virtually every element of the previous Kenyan government is being ripped from office.

I was not optimistic previously about sport/tourist hunting in Kenya, as the anti-hunting/"conservation" (note the quotations) groups had 20 to 30 years of financial ties to government officials to block hunting.

My pessimisim came from the insider nature of those ties, and the fact that those same officials would block efforts to cultivate new relationships with different members of government.

Well, virtually all of those insiders are gone now (or will be leaving soon).

Once the violence begins to taper off, I think those of us who are interested should begin cultivating pro-hunting factions in the new government, including financial support for their efforts.

I don't believe our efforts will pay off overnight, but 5 to 10 years from now, we might all be hunting in Kenya.

Now, get ready for the howling from bunny-huggers.

Garrett

Garrett, I'm not nearly as optimistic as you. The population pressure in Kenya makes every passing year more difficult for sport hunting. Part of the present political problem is that the Kikuyu have "colonized" lands which traditionally were not theirs and the "locals" are terrorizing them into leaving. The birth rate of the Kikuyu the last twenty years is astounding. When you read a story about Kikuyu in the Lake Victoria region being burned out of their homes it's because that is Luo territory and they believe the Kikuyu have little traditional right to be there. But the Kikuyu have little choice, they have to live somewhere and piling up the additional population in slums in Nairobi doesn't seem to be their preferred solution.

You might read "An Impossible Dream" by Brian Herne (if my memory is correct) who treats the problem of keeping game management sane in Kenya, if you want a former Kenyan Game Warden's point of view. But even the staunchest of the pro-hunting wardens came to believe that it was impossible to keep adherence to quotas, adherence to game laws, etc, under the control of men of integrity and honesty.

Wink,

Your point is well taken, and I agree so far as it goes, but that wasn't what I was speaking of.

Your point is wildlife management, which is a very difficult issue, but possible within certain limitations.

I am speaking just of licensed/permitted hunting.

I think we can do it. Then, after that, we have to address the issue of wildlife management, subsistance/bush meat poaching, and human encroachment into wildlife habitat.
And that wildlife management will not be easy.

Garrett

Garrett, perhaps it's the concept of licencing with no management that sounds like a non-starter in hyper-environmentally conscious Kenya. In fact, the problem with Kenya was that they had good wildlife management and licenced hunting. Then the quality of wildlife management (which includes anti-poachng efforts, etc) degraded to the point that everything was being shot out and most poachers could acquire "permits" after the fact. The game wardens themselves had to accept that under such a system the game would soon be gone, that controlled hunting when the officialdom is corrupt is a myth.