A 52-year-old man from Ugunja Subcounty is set to receive government compensation after a harrowing encounter with a python that left his domestic dog dead.
Charles Osore, a resident of Luoka village in Madungu sub-location, made headlines earlier this week after he killed the massive snake within his homestead and courageously carried the carcass to a local police station to report the incident.
On Saturday, officials from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) visited Osore’s home to formally initiate the compensation process and assess the impact of the human-wildlife conflict. The team was led by Grace Kariuki, the Senior Warden for Kisumu and Siaya counties.
“We have carried a form with us; he will fill it well and wait for that time when compensation will be done,” Kariuki stated during the visit. She commended Osore for following the correct legal procedures by reporting the matter to the authorities rather than disposing of the animal privately.
The incident has served as a catalyst for educational outreach in the region. KWS officials used the visit to sensitize Luoka residents on wildlife conflict regulations, emphasizing that compensation is available for livestock and property damage under specific conditions outlined in the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act.
Osore expressed his relief at the government’s intervention, noting that the encounter had been both frightening and a significant loss. “I am happy that the KWS team visited us, and from the visit, we got to learn so many things and even how to handle such cases,” he said.
Local residents, led by Alfred Onyango, noted that the KWS visit helped demystify the process of reporting conflicts involving other animals, such as monkeys, which frequently disturb local farms. “I didn’t know that these monkeys that have been disturbing us almost every day, their matter can be sorted out just by reporting,” Onyango remarked.
While welcoming the KWS visit, Osore urged the service to improve their response times to distress calls. He recalled the anger and fear he felt when the python attacked his dog, fearing for his own life and that of his family.
KWS has pledged to conduct further community awareness sessions in Ugunja to ensure residents know how to safely respond to wildlife encounters without putting themselves at risk.
Under Kenyan law, the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act provides for compensation for personal injury, death, or damage to property (including livestock) caused by specific wildlife species, provided the incident is reported promptly and verified by a compensation committee.
Would you like me to research the current compensation rates for livestock in Kenya or look into other recent human-wildlife conflict cases in the Nyanza region?
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