The snipers trained to protect rhinos
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
You never expect Africa to be cold, but up here on Kenya's Laikipia plateau, it's freezing. Thick cloud hides the spires of Mount Kenya and as darkness falls, the temperature plummets.
I'm lying in wet grass with three heavily armed Kenyans. One hundred metres ahead stand three white rhinos. They're oblivious to our presence, and from here, with three shots, my companions could earn themselves a year's salary each.
Acting Agriculture Minister, Edwin Dikoloti, is right in saying opening an export-ready facility whilst Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is still spreading would risk getting the whole country blacklisted before a single carcass leaves the door.A ban like that would break the already stressed nation. So, the postponement, painful as it is, is the right thing to do. The local economy is being squeezed from both ends. FMD has already slammed the door...