Kenyans angered by move to stop lions from giving birth

Kenyans were left angered on Thursday after the country's wildlife authority announced that it had implanted contraceptives in a lioness to stop it from giving birth to maintain a healthy food chain balance.

"The lion reigns supreme on the Food Chain. To maintain this balance, Kenya Wildlife Service veterinarian Dr. M. Mutinda, deployed a hormonal contraceptive implant (prevents conception for a year) in an immobilized 5-year-old lioness at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy," KWS said via its official Twitter handle.

"Six lionesses will be implanted to reduce the predation of endangered species."

The implantation of the contraceptives comes barely a year after a multi-agency stuy showed that the East African country's lion population was far less than initially thought.

Conducted in October 2019, Kenya's first ever scientific census on the population and geographical range of the lion showed that the carnivore's numbers had dwindled worryingly over the past decade.

Local Daily Nation newspaper at the time reported that there were about 1,970 lions in 2007.

At a conference themed "Carnivore conservation in changing landscapes", KWS Director General John Waweru called for ways of tackling challenges facing carnivores.

According to the wildlife authority, Kenya's carnivore population is estimated to be above 2,000.

Following Thursday's announcement by KWS on implanting contraceptives in lionesses, Kenyans flooded social media to show their disapproval of the move, some calling for other means to ensure a balanced food chain.

Aggrey Alwla said: "I thought being in the wild we allow nature to take it's course? If there is an endangered species there are many ways to save,like relocating them to where preys are few or at an enclosed area or ranch for it to recover and multiply."

Darshak Patel said: "Seriously!! This will be time lost that you will never recover. Just relocate them. If necessary relocate a whole pride. Many places in Kenya they can easily flourish."

Hassan Basmer said: "This is wrong lions are few now in Kenya. They should have sent them to Boni Forest where other animals in their food chain are so many. In Boni Forest they are thriving."

Evans Wesonga asked: "Wrong decision. Why not relocate and distribute the population across various national parks?"