Kenyans have launched a new site dubbed- PoachersExposed.com – to name and shame poachers in the country.
Founded by a group of 25 wildlife campaigners under the Kenyans United Against Poaching (Kuapo) group, suspected or convicted poachers will be listed on the site in a move to reduce the menace.
The site also has data to help users fight poaching in the country.
Users will report on the site anonymously for confidentiality to map patterns of conviction by region, court and magistrates. Th site, still with little information will ensure every post is verified before posting. It’s developer hope the data will reveal trends to help fight poaching.
According to Kuapo’s Salisha Chandra, speaking to the BBC; “This is not just about the poacher who is shooting the bullet but the middle man and the average Joe caught trafficking rhino horn or ivory.
“There are concerns that all along the chain there are issues of evidence not being collected properly, to judges not fully understanding the impact of the crime, to leniency and corruption,” Ms Chandra added.
The group hopes the public naming and shaming will help reduce the crime, as the victims will shy away from the practice.
Set up in January, Kuapo is backed by several wildlife and civil societies and community groups. The developers also run RafikiyaWanyamaKenya, a site that records reported attacks on wildlife.
Ivory trade was banned in 1989 and the number of elephants has significantly dropped. Reports claim about 100 elephants are killed each year in Kenya by poachers. China, Kenya’s friendly investor, has been reported as the worlds lucrative market for ivory.