This weekend, President Obama will travel to Kenya to discuss wildlife trafficking (among other topics). “Using Kenya as a platform to talk about regional or continent-wide conservation issues has to be the goal,” said Adam M. Roberts, CEO of Born Free USA and Born Free Foundation. “The rest of Africa, or least East Africa, is listening.” Roberts explains that seaports and airports are a potential chokepoint in stopping the wildlife trade and that the U.S. could have a major impact by helping African countries intercept such products. Allocating resources for X-ray machines and sniffer dogs at ports such as Mombasa in Kenya, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia would be a good start, Roberts said, as research by Born Free and the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington has shown that many of the wildlife products shipped out of Africa go through these three ports.
Link: TakePart