This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
On June 18, 2020, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala announced plans to collaborate with Bio Ken Snake Farm in Watamu to develop a locally-made anti-venom drug.
According to Balala, the ministry is seeking a partnership with Bio Ken to endorse the conservation group to extract venom from snakes and develop it into an antidote for snake bites.
Snake bites account for 80 percent of all human-wildlife conflicts cases at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), with 80 percent of recorded deaths caused by snakebites, Balala noted.
He emphasized the need for civic education to enlighten communities on how to handle snakes and reduce the cases of snakebites.
‘We have looked at their records and my office and Bio Ken want to form a partnership so that we can legalize their operations and see if the anti-venom drug can be manufactured in the country so Kenya can stop importing the same,’ Balala said.
