Baraza

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?