Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · Kenya · 1977–2016
Wildlife fell on Kenyan rangelands after the 1977 hunting ban, study finds
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Kenya banned trophy hunting in 1977 to halt large-scale illegal hunting. A 2016 study found average wildlife on rangelands covering 88% of the country fell 68% from 1977 to 2016, while sheep and goat numbers rose 76%.
What?
Kenya banned trophy hunting in 1977, and rangeland wildlife declined over the following decades PLOS ONE
Where?
Kenya; rangelands covering 88% of national land PLOS ONE
When?
Ban in 1977; study covers 1977 to 2016 PLOS ONE
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Wildlife on Kenyan rangelands — average population down 68% and biomass down 59%, 1977 to 2016 PLOS ONE
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
The study's authors name policy, institutional and market failures: wildlife is state-owned and low-priced, and landowners do not benefit from it. PLOS ONE
How?
The study compared rangeland wildlife and livestock counts over 1977 to 2016 and did not test the ban's effect directly. PLOS ONE
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Kenya banned trophy hunting in 1977 to halt large-scale illegal hunting.
A 2016 study by Ogutu and colleagues in PLOS ONE found that average wildlife on rangelands covering 88% of the country fell 68% between 1977 and 2016, and wildlife biomass fell 59%.
Sheep and goat numbers rose 76% over the same period. The authors did not test the effect of the ban directly.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not give wildlife numbers for 1977 or the enforcement record of the ban.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say who profited from wildlife or from the growth in livestock.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers
Researchers
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