Editor's note

Kenya has proposed the death penalty for wildlife poachers. Jeremiah Asaka argues that it’s a bad decision. Firstly, the death penalty undermines human rights. Secondly, poachers risk their lives to poach so the threat of the death penalty isn’t going to deter them. The government should rather focus on making sure existing laws are enforced.

There’s a 98% overlap in the DNA of chimpanzees and humans. This genetic closeness carries huge potential for medicine. For example, plants eaten by chimpanzees that keep them healthy might be adaptable for human use. Ahoua Constant explains how research is being done to identify which ones might be useful in developing medicines for humans.

Moina Spooner

Commissioning Editor: East Africa

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Kenya Wildlife Service rangers on patrol at the Meru National Park. Flickr/IFAW

Why Kenya’s proposal to execute convicted poachers is a bad idea

Jeremiah Ogonda Asaka, Middle Tennessee State University

Kenya's death penalty proposal is not the quick fix solution to curb wildlife poaching.

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