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Applying for a KWS permit to practice game farming

Game farming is increasingly becoming a lucrative venture in Kenya and many farmers

are accordingly considering venturing into the practice. There have been calls fromvaried quarters for farmers not to rely on conventional livestock farming and insteaddiversify by venturing into rearing non-conventional livestock, what is technicallyreferred to as emerging livestock. These include such animals as crocodile, tortoise,chameleon, snails, frogs, lizards, butterfly, snake and such birds as ostrich, pigeon,doves, ducks, guineafowl, and quelea.

However willing farmers have not been unable to venture into game farming due toignorance of the legal requirements and other obstacles. The animals listed above areregulated under The Wildlife (Conservation and Management) Act Cap.376 of the Lawsof Kenya which attracts penalties upon contravention. This Act of Parliament will be

repealed and replaced by The Wildlife Bill, 2011 upon enactment into law so thatconservation and management of wildlife conforms to the new constitution. The licensewill be issued according to the seventh and tenth schedule of The Wildlife Bill, 2011 butcurrently it is under Section 43 and 48 of The Wildlife (Conservation and Management)

Act Cap. 376.

To be able to practice game farming, you need to make an application for a gamefarming permit from the Kenya Wildlife Services. This application is made to the DirectorKWS through the nearest KWS regional office. Under the new Wildlife Bill, 2011, theregional office will be located at the County level comprising the County WildlifeConservation Committee. This office will issue you with a form (Form 11) to fill the

required details. The application can also be made via email where they attach a formfor you to fill in the reply.

Once the form has been filled satisfactorily and all the details are in place, the officesends a team of inspectors to your farm to verify the facts as filled in the form and toestablish that you meet the requirements for the enterprise. If they are satisfied, theform is forwarded to KWS headquarters in Nairobi for approval by the director. Onceapproved, a licensing officer, usually a senior warden from the nearest KWS office willissue you with a license to practice game farming upon payment of Kshs 1000 to 2000depending on the business. The license expires annually and must be renewed.

But this does not end there. The KWS will perform periodic monitoring and inspection toensure that you maintain the farm as required. If you breach of any of thoserequirements, the KWS will be forced to withdraw their license. This has happened to anumber of farmers, notable being a crocodile farmer from Embu whose licence waswithdrawn because he could not rear the reptiles according to laid down provisions. Asa result the farmer was forced to abandon the farm leaving 500 crocodiles to starve todeath. However one is allowed to re-apply and the license can be re-issued if KWS issatisfied that the conditions have been met.

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For any one to keep game animals, they must prove that they are up to date with thehusbandry and health of the game animals in question or else hire a specialist. In othercircumstances the farmer must seek proof of competence from recognized authoritiessuch as the Department of Livestock Production or the Department of VeterinaryServices in the Ministry of Livestock Development before KWS approves the license. It

is recognized that not all farmers can keep these animals as required and that is whythe hands of an expert is mandatory. A farmer who cannot be trusted by KWS on thisshould therefore save his or her time.

Large scale enterprises like ranches may require an Environment Impact Assessment(EIA) from the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) before licensingunder the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, No. 8 of 1999;

Some other requirements are for an ordinary business nature. For example KWS willwant to know the name of your business, where it is located, whether you have enoughland for the venture, trade license, contact details, nature of business, and others.

Most of the products from game farming are not consumed by the locals. A large portionends up in very sensitive areas such as tourist joints and exports. Distributors of theseproducts demand a certificate from KWS before they can accept game products from asupplier. KWS also conducts regular inspections to these distributors to ensurecompliance with the set regulations.Another key body that has a stake in game andgame products is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of WildFauna and Flora (CITES). If the product is destined for export, a tag supplied by CITESindicates the source of the game product.

One important aspect that should not go without mention is the amount of capital

requirements for the business. Game farming demands a substantial amount of moneyand entrepreneurs might be disqualified solely on this basis. As you can see, to be agame farmer you need to be more prepared then an ordinary livestock farmer. Howeverthis should not deter you as the benefits you are likely to accrue far outweigh theintricacies you are certainly going to encounter.

Download the Wildlife Bill 2011 and Wildlife Act Cap 376 here

http://www.livestock.go.ke/http://www.nema.go.ke/http://www.cites.org/http://www.cites.org/http://livestockkenya.com/index.php/download-here/viewdownload/11-livestock-policy-and-regulations/3-wildlife-bill-and-acthttp://livestockkenya.com/index.php/download-here/viewdownload/11-livestock-policy-and-regulations/3-wildlife-bill-and-acthttp://www.cites.org/http://www.cites.org/http://www.nema.go.ke/http://www.livestock.go.ke/