By Sharon Atieno
To uphold Kenya’s reputation as a global conservation leader, avoid biodiversity loss and prevent public health threats, the country should take action to end commercial captive wildlife breeding.
This is according to a report released by the World Animal Protection, a global animal welfare organization, that unveils the alarming inhumane treatment of wild animals in commercial wildlife farming in Kenya.
The report, titled “Behind Bars: Lifting the Lid off Kenya’s Cruel Wildlife Farming,” is based on months of extensive research and undercover field investigations. It documents how wild animals-including crocodiles, giraffes, ostriches, tortoises, monkeys and hippos- are bred, confined and exploited in captive facilities under the guise of conservation and tourism.
The report found that wildlife in most of the wildlife farming facilities were kept in inhumane conditions. Field investigations reveal that animals are kept in cramped spaces, lacking space to express natural behaviors. Some animals also exhibit stereotypic stress behaviors like pacing, overgrooming, and self-mutilation.
Many of them suffered from parasite infestations, untreated wounds, and severe malnutrition. The facilities also lack professional veterinary care, leaving animals vulnerable to disease and suffering.
“Some owners claimed to manage the health of their animals without veterinary assistance, while others provided only basic treatments like copper sulfate for wounds and multivitamins in food,” the report notes.
According to the report, the higher admission fees at tourist venues (averaging Kshs 400 or three dollars) compared to breeding facilities (averaging Kshs 250 or two dollars) suggest that tourism-focused operations prioritize profit through entertainment and interaction. The commercial pressure to provide these experiences exacerbates welfare issues, such as animals being pushed to perform and interact repeatedly, often with minimal respite.
It also found that tourist-focused facilities, comprising 33% of the total sites visited, were found to exploit animals for entertainment. Animal-visitor interactions (AVIs), such as handling tethered birds or feeding large mammals, were common but often detrimental to animal welfare.
The report also found that at least one of the wildlife breeding facilities is actively involved in extracting or purchasing animals caught from the wild, exacerbating the ethical concerns surrounding their operations. In one case, the venue was openly found to be sourcing animals directly from the wild, with local community members capturing and delivering them in crude conditions, such as in sacks or placed on top of each other, among other methods.
“While often presented as a solution for sustainable use and economic gain, commercial wildlife breeding in Kenya is riddled with cruelty, ecological damage, and illegal exploitation. Unless action is taken now, sadly, Kenya’s rich natural heritage will suffer irreversible damage,” said Tennyson Williams, Director, Wildlife Animal Protection, during the report’s launch in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
According to Williams, Kenya’s tourism sector should focus on genuine conservation-based tourism, where animals remain in the wild and benefit from properly managed protected areas. Ethical tourism generates long-term economic benefits without compromising animal welfare.
“The more the standards are upheld in Kenya, the better for the tourism sector to flourish because tourists are becoming more aware of these issues and they tend to go to where the standards are upheld,” he stressed.
Among the urgent actions recommended by the report include conducting a comprehensive national audit of the commercial captive facilities, launching county and national campaigns to raise awareness about the inherent animal cruelty of wildlife farming and the ethical and ecological importance of protecting wildlife in their natural habitats, prohibiting direct animal-visitor interactions such as hand feeding and animal petting, and rescuing and relocating animals living in inhumane conditions to accredited sanctuaries.
In the medium term, the report recommends strengthening legislation and enforcement, including updating the 2013 Kenya Wildlife Conservation and Management Act to prioritize animal welfare and the protection of wild animals in their natural habitats. It also advocates for suspending the establishment of new facilities.
In the long term, the report calls for phasing out commercial wildlife farming and promoting sustainable alternatives such as ecotourism or conservation-based initiatives.
