By Seth Odongo
If Kenya was tourism conscious society, the tusks set to be burnt ought to have been preserved in a national wildlife museum or a memorial for public viewing. This would not just raise awareness on the tragedy of poaching but tourists – domestic and international – visiting such sites will pay, earning the country the money we need to fight poaching.
School children visiting such sifts will be disgusted. Rather than burn the ivory, we need to go back to the wild and get the carcasses of the elephants that were killed, and ‘dry’ them or ‘freeze’ them then enclose them in transparent glass cubes for public viewing.
Every Ivory snatched from a poacher should be piled and preserved in a heavily protected museum. The government would then employ tour guides (direct source of employment) and our enterprising citizens will open food kiosks and sell artificial merchandise therein. That’s how economy grows alongside historical artifact development.
To burn ivory in this day and age is to do so simply for sentimental value.
As a country, we are just starting to develop our history. 100 years from now those who will dwell here will mostly likely be dismayed that we denied them an opportunity to learn from our conservation struggles. Let’s preserve ivory, rather than burn them!
I wait for a riveting counter-argument.
Anonymous says
Oja hiini bure kabisa.
Wazi chome wa wale walio usika nazo.
Anonymous says
Oja hii ni bure kabisa.
Wazi chome pamoja na wale walio usika nazo.
Anonymous says
Nyakwar Doris, would you rather see a whole living elephant with tusks or a mummified one 100 years from now? You are Kenyan and you live in Kenya and tell me how long those tusks will last in a ‘protected” museum in a land where anything and everything goes?
uzuri wa mkakasi says
ahmet the elephant with his tusks is enough to represent elephants in the museum burn all the tusks
1,2,3 kid... says
And u tink the govt is that stupid to burn all that money?? Dis being burned are fake plastics ones the real ivory are already sold to chinese to do whatever they do wit dem! Stop being fooled like dis. Who does not like money??
Kingi says
I support the government to burn the Ivory plus the poachers.
Gatua Pius says
y preserve them? to create a chance for more experienced poachers to secretly go away with them? hell no…if they were seen unworthy & useless in their natural place,putting them behind mirrors for viewing is also useless….
i could also help him torch them..
Nyaga Nassir says
This is our kenya all are side show,speak of elephant tusk no sir,say Fake Elephant Tusk set ablaze and the original ones set aside kwani iko nini?Hii mali yetu wacha cnn na france tv wapeperushe video ya kuni zimechongwa zikafanana na pembe za ndovu.
Bridgette Brendan says
Cmon guys…this is kenya n kenya is a corrupt country which aint siri….the burnt ivory were fake…dont be blinded by da government..we all knw da truth…who daznt love money anyway…think about it
Anonymous says
This is just a facade. The big picture is always behind. The Ivory that will burn is probably a third of the whole package or just fake stuff. We are sourcing money for 2017 campaign and bribes. Where do you filthy Kenyans think this money come from. Apart from Euro-bond loot, NYS loot and many others, ivory happen to be the most lucrative. Coz the dirty work was not done by jubilee to start with.
Anonymous says
zipreserviwe