Elephant hunting in Kenya

Elephant hunting, which used to be an accepted activity in Kenya, was banned in 1973, as was the ivory trade. Illegal hunting continues, as there is still an international demand for elephant tusks. Kenya pioneered the destruction of ivory as a way to combat this black market. Elephant poaching continues to pose a threat to the population.

During colonial times, elephant hunting in Kenya was seen as a sport for noblemen and was exploited by the colonial governors.British East Africa was not unique in this: big-game hunting was popular in many parts of the Empire. Among the white hunters, the bull elephant was said to be the most exhilarating target. Small-bore rifles appeared to be the preferred option and aiming at the brain instead of the heart was another preference. The motive was not always monetary. However, many hunters were indiscriminate in their choice of elephants to kill – young, old, male or female, it did not matter, as the primary purpose was ivory to sell and elephant meat to feed their hunting party.

The East African Professional Hunter's Association was formed to regulate the industry and restrict its excesses. The Association, which came into being at the Norfolk Hotel, Nairobi, stemmed from a desire to regulate hunting in the wake of technological developments like the safari vehicle, which had made accessing remote hunting areas much easier. During its existence it was able to accomplish much to conserve East African wildlife and become perhaps one of the most respected societies in the world of its kind.

One of the most prolific of the white hunters was the Scottish adventurer W. D. M. Bell, who is reported to have killed over a thousand elephants, spread across several African countries. See the first of his memoirs, The Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter (1923), for more information. Some of the madness of the desire to shoot an elephant (albeit not in Kenya) is shown in White Hunter Black Heart, a fictionalised version of what happened during the filming of the Hollywood classic African Queen.

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