Wildlife experts question Kagwe's directive on water buffalo meat

Wildlife conservation experts have expressed shock over the legalisation of domesticated water buffaloes as food animals. The animals are not native to Kenya.

The concerns follow a gazette notice dated January 31, this year, in which Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development Mutahi Kagwe declared domesticated water buffalo a food animal.

World Animal Protection Organization research manager Patrick Muinde questioned why the government is gazetting a bovine species whose population in the country is not in the public domain as a food animal.

“What is the essence of gazetting an animal that is not in the country for food? The move should be backed by data so that we can get to know how much these animals will be contributing to food security and the economy in general,” Dr Muinde says.

Experts argue that while domesticated water buffaloes are not native to Kenya, the gazette notice is sending mixed signals that they might have been imported or that the country is in the process of legalising its imports. They are now questioning the animals’ estimated contribution to the country's food security and economy.

Nature Kenya Sites and Species expert Paul Gacheru says that the gazettement is confusing since Kenya does not have a legislation and registration of game meat.

He says Kenyan laws also do not allow hunting or gaming for food, except for instances of animals such as crocodiles, ostrich, pigeons, guineafowl, butterflies, and snakes.

"We do not understand is if the government will be importing the water buffaloes or the meat for consumption. We want to know what prompted the gazettement and the rationale behind it," Gacheru says.

Domestic water buffaloes are believed to have originated in the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia. The wild water buffalo is said to be a likely ancestor of the domestic water buffalo.

Some experts are now wondering if regulations are in place to address the complex connection between the 'would-be' legal domestic water buffalo trade and the illegal trade expected to exploit the Cape buffaloes in Kenya's national parks and reserves.

“Balancing the legal and illegal trade is complex and Kenya does not have the forensics capacity to check and regulate what goes into the market at the moment. There have been a lot of cases of donkey meat in the market, something that has not been controlled yet. If water buffaloes are introduced, will the government have enough capacity to curb poaching of the African buffaloes in our national parks?” Muinde questioned.

In Asian countries, domesticated water buffaloes live on farms and are used for milk, labour, and meat production. On the other hand, the wild water buffalo is currently classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN).

IUCN estimates the population of the wild water buffalo to be 2,500, with its numbers on a constant decline. The wild populations are found in Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand. However, wild populations are extinct in countries including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

While conservation experts are still trying to understand the motive behind the gazettement of water buffaloes as food animals in the country, they have also warned against any move to gazette the African buffalo, the species that is found in Kenya.

They say that the African buffalo has never been domesticated anywhere in the world as they are too temperamental and dangerous.

"African buffaloes are more aggressive than domesticated water buffaloes. Besides being dangerous, they are carriers of diseases like anthrax, which can easily spread to cattle and humans. Buffaloes suffer a lot from density-related diseases like anthrax,” Amos Chege, a wildlife researcher, said.

Chege added that allowing livestock to mingle with these animals will require high disease surveillance and frequent vaccination. The country, he said, still lacks that capacity and that is why it does not even make economic sense to domesticate an African buffalo.

Initially, there had been efforts to translocate buffaloes in conservation areas that have exceeded carrying capacity. There had been several attempts to relocate buffaloes from Lake Nakuru National Park. 

"The only way to solve overpopulation of a wild species is reintroducing them to a new conservation area. There are vast areas where the African water buffaloes can be introduced to in this country," Chege said.

"Alternatively, KWS can introduce predators like lions to balance the ecosystem in areas where there is a high density of buffaloes," he added.

Data from the 2021 National Wildlife Census shows that Kenya had over 41,000 buffaloes. Maasai Mara has the highest population of these herbivores, constituting 28 per cent of the total population, followed by the Tsavo ecosystem, Lake Nakuru National Park, and the Laikipia-Samburu-Marsabit ecosystem. They also live in Ol Donyo Sabuk, Shimba Hills, the Athi-Kapiti ecosystem, and Mwea National Reserve. In Kenya, buffaloes are among the big five iconic species.

According to World Animal Protection, domesticating a wild animal takes thousands of years of living alongside animals and selectively breeding them, which is an extremely difficult endeavour.

It is believed that goats were likely the first animals to be domesticated, followed by sheep and chickens.