The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is open to applications by Kenyans seeking to rear snakes.
Before embarking on the venture, those interested have been asked to acquire the licence application form for Authority to Operate Wildlife Utilisation Enterprise.
Once the application form has been acquired and duly filled, the individual ought to return it to a KWS Licensing/Regulatory Affairs Office for review before the license is issued.
“Are you interested in Snake farming? Well to do it you need to acquire a licence. Download the license application form for Authority to Operate Wildlife Utilisation Enterprise using this link,” the agency announced on Twitter.
This comes in light of a discussion started by George Wajackoya who held that Kenya could rip big out of snake farming and have its debt cleared by the proceeds from the venture. The Roots Party presidential candidate said that if he ascends to power after the August 9 vote, he would introduce snake farming in the country.
Are you interested in Snake farming?
Well to do it you need to acquire a license.
Download the license application form for Authority to Operate Wildlife Utilization Enterprise using this link: https://t.co/6OSqNyGI6y
… pic.twitter.com/0qUwXHq9V0— Kenya Wildlife Service (@kwskenya) June 16, 2022
According to him, Kenya could cash in on the anti-venom market and thus help offset the current debt owed to China and other lenders.
Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on the Wednesday of June 8, the politician observed that there exists a lot of snakes in the country. He regretted that Kenya had been depending on other countries to provide anti-venom for them through pharmaceutical cooperation yet the country has many snakes.
“I will introduce snake farming in this country. Many people are bitten by snakes and you have to wait for antidotes from outside the country, yet we have many snakes here,” he said.
He claimed that in his administration he would set up an industry where venom will be extracted from the reptiles and then used in manufacturing anti-venom products.
Wajackoyah also highlighted that snake meat is also a delicacy in some nations, as such, Kenya could sell snake meat to widen its revenue-generating schemes.
“We have so many snakes in this country and we have so many snake eaters. One of the ways we are going to offset debt is by taking these snakes, extracting poison from them and manufacturing them into anti-venom and shipping the reptiles to other countries where they are consumed,”
Final Witness Tells Court Jowie, Maribe Jointly Murdered Monica Kimani