By E, KNA
The Media Council of Kenya has committed to offering financial grant to local journalists to facilitate them to highlight and better story telling on animal welfare in the country.
The story grant is expected to motivate the journalists to undertake solution based reports on animal welfare with key focus on their economic role and threats faced.
According to Victor Bwire, the Director for Media Training and Development at the Council, reporters must adhere to the ethical tenets of journalism during information gathering, research and writing an impactful story.
Bwire said the grant will facilitate the journalists to undertake factual based research on animal welfare, highlight challenges faced, while offering possible solutions to issues raised.
Speaking to reporters from Nakuru county during a sensitization workshop on animal welfare in Naivasha, Bwire urged journalist to adopt the use of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence [AI] to enhance research and fine-tune stories.
He however warned against plagiarism in the sector noting that local media houses have adopted anti-plagiarism tools to protect their credibility against rise in spread of fake news especially on social media networks.
“MCK has adopted a new code of ethics for media practice that institutes new guidelines and especially on the use of AI in journalism, user generated content and protection of children from harmful content,” said Bwire.
This comes after reports indicated increased cases of illegal donkey slaughtering which is reportedly being driven by high demand for hides in the international market.
According to Elijah Mithigi, the Program Officer at Brooke East Africa, there’s a big crisis for donkey hides trade that is fueling illegal animal slaughtering across various counties.
He accused the illegal Chinese traders in the country for being behind increased cases of donkey slaughtering for hides that attract a huge fortune in China for use in medicinal purposes.
Mithigi said the new wave of illegal donkey slaughtering risks negating the gain made in enhancing the threatened donkey population since the government ban on the trade four years ago.
According to Kenneth Wamuga, the CEO of Farming Systems Kenya, donkey population in the country declined by 700,000 animals from 1.8 million in 2009 to 1.1 million in 2019.
Wamuga said the donkeys were further threatened after the government issued operating permits to four slaughterhouses that led to increased theft of donkeys, illegal bush slaughtering and sale of uninspected donkey meat to Kenyans.
However, Wamuga said due to growing public outcry, the government reversed revoked all the licenses issued in February 2020 to Goldex Kenya ltd, Star Brilliant, Fuhau and Silzha companies making it illegal to trade in donkey meat and hides.
He said that within three years of allowing legal donkey trade in the country, 15.4 percent of the animal population was wiped out with research indicating that Kenya would have slaughtered her last donkey last year if the trade continued.
The CEO added that as a result of public awareness on the plight of donkeys on the continent, the African Union Heads of State in 2024 agreed to ban the trade of donkey skin within the next 15 years to inform better policy decisions.
However, Wamuga noted that Kenya is yet to gazette last year’s outcome of the AU decision to effect the continental ban with a new wave of illegal donkey slaughtering being reported.
He said that new cases of illegal slaughtering driven by high demand for donkey hides have hit Embu, Kisumu, Kirinyaga and Murang’a counties with farmers left counting losses over theft of their animals.
Wamuga said the organisation’s partnership with security agencies has rescued over 500 donkeys in the last few months which were on route to illegal slaughterhouses.
Bwire said journalist should help amplify and inform the public on the health risks of illegal donkey slaughtering noting that uninspected meat is often sold to unsuspecting Kenyans.
He said the training offered to scribes will enable them investigate and expose illegal networks that fuels the trade as well as raising awareness on policy makers to review current legislations that slaps lenient fines to culprits.
To write award winning stories, MCK Assistant Director for Media Curriculum Development Christine Nguku said journalists must uphold creativity, news value, quality, use clear and active language, and ensure uniqueness in storytelling.