The State has opposed a Bill that seeks to reintroduce payments for death or injury arising from attacks by Sharks and Whales which were removed from the compensation schedule in 2019.
The Wildlife Ministry and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said there is an ongoing effort that would see comprehensive reforms in the legal framework governing human-wildlife compensation.
The Wildlife Conservation and Management (Amendment) Bill 2023 sponsored by Lamu East MP Ruweida Obo seeks to expand the scope of compensation to include victims of Stone Fish and Stingrays.
The National Assembly in 2019 amended the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013 and removed sharks, whales, stonefish, stingrays and snakes from the list of wildlife species in respect of which compensation is payable for death or injury.
The committee removed snake bites and marine creatures to help bring down the compensation claims, which stood at Sh2.6 billion in the year to June 2023.
The law currently allows compensation for death or injury from attacks by an elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, hyena, crocodile, cheetah or buffalo.
The law also allows compensation for crops, livestock and property damaged by elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, hyenas, crocodiles, cheetahs, buffalo, hippos, zebra, eland, wildebeest, snakes and wild dogs.
A compensation of Sh5 million is paid to the next of kin in cases of human death after verification.
“With the indulgence of the committee and the member for Lamu East, I ask that we stand down the proposed amendment to allow the conclusion of the ongoing review of the legal framework on human-wildlife compensation,” said Wildlife PS Silvia Museiya.
“Already there is a draft Bill that was prepared by a consultant that the Ministry, together with other stakeholders is looking at. This draft contains what the proposed seeks to achieve.”
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Committee on Wildlife and Tourism alongside the PS, Mary Kirabui, the KWS Deputy Director, Community and Education, said Sharks, Whales and Stingrays are inhabitants of the deep sea and are rarely cited at the shores, if at all.
She said Stone Fish on the other hand inhibit coral reefs and shallows of the Pacific and Indian oceans.
“A person who gets attacked by any of these animals would have purposely ventured into their natural habitat and disturbed their peace noting that the said creatures are not known to attack humans unless provoked,” Ms Kirabui said.
“In any case, injuries and death caused by these said creatures are negligible worldwide if at all and the Kenyan coast is not flagged as exhibiting these animals as problematic species.”
Ms Kirabui said Sharks, Whales and Sting Rays are not limited to a country’s territorial jurisdiction and are migratory in nature and therefore will expose the KWS to a litany of cases hard to proof.
“Additionally, it should be noted that the KWS does not have the capacity to monitor and control movements of Whales, Sharks, Sting Rays and Stone Fish in the ocean,” Ms Kirabui said.
Ms Museiya told the committee that the country had accumulated compensation claims in excess of Sh5 billion as from 2014.
She said the Ministry has since approved and disbursed Sh2.7 billion. The Treasury allocated Sh900 million in the Supplementary Budget II for 2022/23 and a further Sh1.1 billion in the financial year 2023/24 to compensate victims of human-wildlife conflict.
Between 2017 and 2020, more than 380 Kenyans died after being attacked by wild animals, while 2,080 were left nursing various injuries, according to KWS statistics.
