From Africa News, Kenya

12 February 2007 - PANA. African wildlife conservationists and the US have formed an intergovernmental panel to combat illegal trade in wildlife mostly stolen from African national parks, estimated at US$10 billion annually.

US assistant Secretary Claudia McMurray said the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking is to be joined by Cameroon, Kenya and South Africa to combat illegal wildlife trade.

It will target smugglers and dealers whose activities threaten endangered species in Africa, she explained.

"Kenya has developed a good system of anti-pouching and enforcement of wildlife-related laws and treaties, but there are many developing countries that urgently need assistance to counter the threats," McMurray told a news conference here Sunday.

Conservationists say unchecked demand for exotic pets such as cheetahs, rare foods, trophies and traditional medicines is driving wild species to the brink of extinction.

The illegal trade in wildlife products is also threatening the survival of mankind because it encourages the spread of virulent wildlife diseases such as SARS, the avian influenza and the Ebola virus, she observed.

Meanwhile, Dr Laurie Marker, founder and executive director of the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund, said trade in game meat was still legal in Namibia, while the cat family comprising lions and cheetahs were fast becoming extinct.

"We have to work towards a regional strategy to ensure the survival of cheetahs. We need to reduce the threats to these species because most of them are now being captured and trafficked because there is demand for them as pets," Marker warned.

Conservationists are concerned that illegal wildlife trade continues to thrive despite the presence of tough international rules governing trade in the endangered species.

Michael Wamithi, an International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Advisor said trade in these endangered species was now taking place on a more advanced stage through the internet, which makes it more difficult for authorities to crackdown on the criminals.

"We need training for wildlife personnel to enable them counter these criminals because they are now advanced. Most of these are now taking place on the Internet," Wamithi, a former Managing Director of the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), told journalists.

He said Kenya had put in place advanced detection mechanisms to combat the trafficking of endangered species through sniffing dogs trained to detect ivory-products on passenger luggage at the airports and advanced container scrutiny.