Animal Welfare Monthly Highlights: April 2025
A TRIBUTE TO SHARON WAWIRA KORU
The Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) staff mourns as we come to terms with the loss of our colleague and friend, Sharon Wawira Koru, on April 20, 2025, after ailing with Acute Leukemia. Many of our partners, stakeholders and donors may know her as the quiet and industrious Communications Officer in our office in Nairobi, Kenya.
We write to pay tribute to an animal welfare and conservation champion who diligently sought to educate and create awareness amongst the masses through great talent equipped skill in text and visual communication.
She used her expertise in digital marketing and publicity to share knowledge, news, opinions, findings, features and information on adopting good animal welfare practices and effective conservation approaches. In the 27 years she lived, she held a passion for creativity in her work and her spare time. She brought smiles to many by producing excellent artistic media in her work and adept beautiful audacious crafts during her pass time activities.
She spoke to you, readers, through ANAW’s social media, the Animal Welfare Magazine, annual reports, conference reports, the website, fundraising support work, workshop presentations and branding items for programs, projects and events among other communication platforms. She invited you to join the community to protect and care for animals globally. She was an ardent campaigner, promoting cage-free poultry farming, advocating for the enforced ban on donkey trade and aligning with welfare-prioritized veterinary care among other animal protection initiatives.
Let us celebrate Sharon Wawira Koru as a treasured soul in the animal welfare community. We continually pray for and stand with her family and friends during this difficult time.
May her soul rest in eternal peace.
An Ode to Sharon Wawira Koru
Many would think of Sharon as a tiny wistful delicate bird, but we observe a cut from the feline fabric, a panther.
To the coolest cat in the streets of the 45373, Sharon Wawira Koru:
Your silent melanistic stealth causes a series of calm ripples that echo the extraordinary moves you make.
You pounce with vigor at any rustle in the bushes, that draws your attention and tugs at your quick wit.
Your sharp claws of intelligence effortless against impossible feats and your exceptional vision keen on what others miss.
Your split-pupiled eyes narrowed on the goal with undaunted focus, equipped with skill and diligent to a fault.
Your agile formidable feline prowess, disguised in a dainty tiny frame, is at home in vast and tropical African landscape.
Your eyes silently observe global happenings consuming knowledge from behind the leaves on a branch of the Acacia tree.
You bear your traits, of keen observance, brilliant creativity, kindness, service to others, and avid dedication, with great pride.
Your playful and affectionate nature evokes warm smiles in our hearts.
A champion you were, a champion you remain, a champion you always will be.
Be at peace as you curl up, and purr with memories of love and friendship in all our hearts.
Fare thee well. We love and miss you, dear friend. Rest in Peace, Sharon Koru.
Enhancing Donkey Health and Welfare with WTG
It was with invigorated strength and passion that the ANAW team officially kick started the fourth phase of the WTG project in the month of April that is geared towards enhancing donkey health and welfare in Migori and Marsabit counties. The key activities that were conducted included introductory meetings with respective county veterinary officials, community members, donkey owners and users, local administration, local service providers and local information networks.
This new phase is also geared towards enhancing partnership with border communities and security agencies in Narok and Kajiado to monitor and halt illegal donkey cross border movement or smuggling to feed the current ongoing donkey slaughter in the country.
Anti-Bushmeat Advocacy and Campaign Takes Place in Nakuru
De-snaring Patrols
Like clockwork, the ANAW team was back at it undertaking desnaring operations in Nakuru. ANAW in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and personnel from different conservancies carried out a de-snaring exercise covering Marula Farm, Kedong Ranch, Wileli Conservancy, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Upper Farm and Sanctuary Farm in Nakuru County. The exercise which took place between April 22 – 25, 2025 with kind support from Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). A total of 29 snares were lifted during the patrols.
Emergency Wildlife Rescues
It was a successful endeavor when four distressed animals found with snares were successfully attended to and released back into the wild including three waterbucks in Sanctuary Farm on two consecutive days. ANAW in partnership with KWS and David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) rescued two male and female waterbucks and a male giraffe.
Conservation Education
To ensure effectiveness and impact on the community living next to the wilderness area, the team find awareness critical and is key as de-snaring and rescues take place. A successful community conservation education session was held in Kiandenge area in Naivasha in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) education team.
The focus of the campaign, which saw over 50 participants attend, was to educate the community on wildlife conservation and foster environmental awareness on the importance of wildlife in the area. The forum involved the youth, elders and community members. Different conservation topics were covered including issues of bushmeat, benefits of wildlife conservation, human-wildlife conflict and issues of compensation from attacks by wildlife.
Conservation Activities Undertaken to Protect Turtles in Kenya’s Coast
Community Members Plant Mangrove Trees in Kenya's Coast
Mangrove restoration is deemed crucial as it ensures rehabilitated ecosystems where they were previously destroyed. The effect came about as a result of land clearing for agriculture, infrastructure development activities, pollution, overexploitation and other human activities such as charcoal burning. Mangroves protect the coastline against erosion, provides habitat for a wide range of plants and animals and helps in climate change mitigation. In April, the Msambweni group participated in a mangrove planting activity where the community members planted 1000 seedlings.
Further activities were pursued as Msambweni Turtle and Marine Conservation Group carried out security patrols along their coastline. There were no turtle nesting activities observed in this reporting period. The patrols are considered crucial in providing security along the coastline and determining areas with huge amounts of trash that need to be collected.
The patrols in Funzi continued as scheduled. Thankfully, there were no mortality cases recorded. The group reported that the nesting season had begun. The group recorded two new original nests. Two green turtle nests were found at Shemshem in April and are expected to hatch in July.
Unfortunately, during one of their patrols Msambweni group encountered two mortality cases of green turtles which resulted from poaching on April 17 and 22, 2025. The team is pursuing this with the KWS to have the case investigated and the culprit arrested.
ACEF Youth Empowered as an Effective Career and Mentorship Program Takes Off
ANAW successfully hosted twenty boys and girls from five counties for a two-and-a-half-day Career and Mentorship workshop at Kifaru House in Karen, Nairobi. ACEF scholars were able to share their aspirations and listen to career guides in the fields of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, Green Energy, Wildlife and Conservation, and Environmental Energy, and Counselling Psychology.
Participants Attend Career and Mentorship workshop at Kifaru House
They were addressed by ANAW’s Executive Director, Josiah Ojwang who gave the welcome and opening remarks. Josphat Ngonyo, the immediate former Executive Director of ANAW, having been a scholarship beneficiary was also in attendance.
Animals Treated and Released at Colobus Conservation in Diani
It was yet again a successful month as two Colobus and three Sykes monkeys were treated and released in the month of April. The team at the Animal Welfare Clinic attended to 12 animal welfare cases. The 12 animals treated consisted of four Baboons, two Colobus monkeys, four Sykes monkeys and two Vervet monkeys.
New Patrons Trained as Evaluation Takes Place in the Promoting Animal Welfare in Schools (PAWS) Project
Teachers Trained as they join the Project, Promoting Animal Welfare in Schools (PAWS)
Training sessions were held with new patrons from the new 24 schools in Nairobi. The sessions focused on introducing the Animal Welfare Club program which focused on nurturing empathy in school pupils through appreciation of animal welfare principles. Two schools were engaged in taking part in PAWS evaluation project. Baseline data was gathered in Bungule Primary School and Kiteghe Primary School in Taita Taveta County. The project is implemented in seven counties.
The Promoting Animal Welfare in Schools (PAWS), a program run by ANAW through the Animal Welfare Clubs (AWC), work arduously to design, production and distribution of teaching and learning materials, school visits, teachers’ training and workshops as well as embrace the use of creativity.
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