A landmark court case involving elephant injury that lasted eight years, has finally been settled in Kenya .We are all in a state of shock. A British tourist Mrs Wendy Martin has been awarded Sh64.9 million compensation by the High Court. That’s 1 million US dollars!
Ms Martin was injured by an elephant and sued Il Ngwesi lodge, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and an employee, Mr Ian Hamisi Craig following the attack. The High Court Judge Lady Justice Mary Angawa said that Mrs Martin was owed a duty of care concerning her safety while at the lodge. The incident happend when she was on holiday in Kenya in 2000 and went on an early morning jog at Il Ngwesi, a community run conservation area.
It was while on the run in the company of a tour guide and other couples that she was attacked by an elephant. Apparently she tired after 20 minutes into the run she tired and decided to return to the lodge. An elephant appeared and she ran, tripped and fell. The elephant attack was horrific, it gored her with its tusks on her torso, back and leg, and dragged her on the ground. She survived but despite reconstructive surgery, sadly, she is now confined to a wheelchair.
Why are we at WildlifeDirect commiserate with Wendy for the terrible experience and lasting injuries, but we are also in shock? Because the Wildlife Act of Kenya which falls under the Kenya Wildlife Service, currently limits compensation awards to Ksh 30,000 (about $500) to any injury caused by a wild animal. The number of cases are enormous because over 60% of Kenya’s wildlife is not in protected areas and people are injured (or even killed) by wildlife nearly every week.
This decision to award 1 million dollars for an elephant injury on a community conservation area however, will set a new precedent and will immediately affect all conservation areas, we suspect it will make it hard for anyone to guarantee safety on walks or jogs, around your tent or even in your car. Insurance prices will rocket, while outstanding court cases will seek greater compensation and old cases may even be re-opened in light of the amount of the award.
If I owned a conservation area and wanted tourists I’d probably want to get rid of all dangerous animals like snakes, elephant, buffalo, baboons, rhino, eland, hippos and crocodiles…you name it, for fear of litigation. In addition, many community run conservation areas like Il Ingwesi will struggle to survive economically which will be a huge pity in terms of their own income and poverty alleviation, as wel as a massive loss to wildlife. I also think that KWS will increasingly be less sympathetic to ‘rogue’ or problem animals, to make a point they will probably just elimiate any problem animals. Agian, this will be disasterous for wildlife.
I’m curious about how these cases are handled in South Africa and elsewhere .. .anyone got any information?
Donations made here are
Feb 28th Liza H USD 11.00
4 Comments
Paula:
I must admit I have mixed feelings about this award and about the security or lack of it in many lodges/camps in Africa.
Don’t think in terms of the wildlife being eliminated. That is not what should happen.
It is the tourists who need to be protected from themselves. Please remember most tourists think they are in a great huge zoo while on safari. They don’t stop to think of the dangers.
They feel that a simple two strand wire fence will stop any animals from getting them. So often in Kenya I’ve seen tourists rushing to the wire fence to capture a picture of the Mama elephant and her baby 10 feet on the other side. They don’t realize that the Mama could be through the fence in two seconds and have them tusked to the ground should she become nervous or frightened. I’ve seen people walking up to the fence with a huge musth bull on the other side. As you know, musth bulls can be very temperamental and shouldn’t be approached. I’ve heard tourists ask why they need to have an askari escort them to dinner despite the fact there are lions in camp! They don’t bother to watch the paths they are walking on to see if there are snakes or scorpions on it. They feed the monkeys and baboons despite being told not to do so. I’ve even seen native Kenyans from Mombasa show up totally drunk and throwing things at the wildlife. Some people encourage drivers to drive off road. I’ve reported many of these to KWS.
Thus rather than faulting the wildlife, camp and lodge owners MUST focus on protecting the tourists from their own stupidity. This isn’t adequately done in many places in Africa. If camp and lodge owners can prove that they have adequate protections in place, then they shouldn’t be affected by these types of legal rulings. They may need to put more restrictive rules in place as to what tourists can and can’t do – but that is alright. In some camps/lodges you may not be able to jog any more – in others deemed safer it may be alright. They may need to hire more askaris which is also reasonable.
It isn’t the animals fault – it is usually the individuals fault. Yes, this lady received a horrible injury, but future wildlife laws shouldn’t be based on this one legal outcome.
Thanks Jan, you are so right…. but everyone needs protection, not just tourists. I called KWS for a reaction – they didn’t have one and seem to think that this case will not affect them. The ruling has ignited a conversation in Kenya about how fair the award was given the tiny compensations given to Kenyans who have suffered equally if not worse attacks. Many people are hoping that some of the money will be re-invested in conservation, others fear that community conservation areas will collapse,…time will tell, I’ll keep writing about it!
Paula:
It is unfortunate that the lady got injured. Everyone needs protection. Just a few questions.
1) Does Lewa Conservancy advertise jogging as an activity which can be carried out by tourists?
2) Supposing, it was the guide who had been injured would he receive such an AWARD?
Sometimes the insurance companies leave one with no option other than to sue.
That’s about £600,000 in the victim’s own currency. Not much for a remaining lifetime of medical care and all the further implications that paralysis brings at prices relative to the economy the victim actually lives in (presumably along with eight years of legal costs! Was this really defensible?) It seems a fair judgment to me.
Privately owned conservancies are also commercial businesses competing internationally in a competitive luxury tourist market at top dollar, there’s nothing wrong with that. They aren’t operating at the same public/civil service level as the KWS. You can’t jog on the Mara, nor will the park staff give you an aromatherapy massage by your spa bath as they flambe’ your Kudu steak. Nor indeed, will the KWS permit commercial hunting in the public parks and reserves should it be legalised in Kenya, whereas many of the private conservancies include sport hunting in their business plans (again, that will be their right on their own land.) We are not comparing like with like.
Lewa hosts the Safaricom Marathon, they have extensive experience of people jogging in the wild, if they can’t guarantee total safety then they (and those locval initiatives they oversee and support,) surely know which precautions to take, there is really no excuse for negligence.
Private enterprise achieves a lot in conservation terms and should receive more credit, but if they want the luxury international tourist revenue then they have to maintain good safety standards for the paying guests or pay the penalty. Maybe now the lesson has been learned?
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