April Fools: Don’t kill Indian house crows, you won’t get any cash!
Yes, the Indian house crows are noisy, quite annoying and a public nuisance in Mombasa and other Kenyan coastal towns. But you won’t receive any money for killing them, as we reported here earlier in the day.
It was all in the spirit of April Fools’ Day and some of you, our dear readers, were fooled.
What is true, however, is that for years these birds have been wreaking havoc at beach hotels in Mombasa.
The birds, commonly known as kunguru or kurabu, have built a reputation of preventing tourists and residents from holding outdoor activities. They are even known for stealing food from holidaymakers in open-air eateries.
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In a story published on Nation.Africa in October 2021, it was reported that some hotels have employed various strategies to deal with the birds, including deploying workers to scare them away at meal times.
It is for that reason that in 2018, the Mombasa county government, in its medium-term draft budget for 2018/2019, allocated Sh30 million to eradicate the birds in the tourism hub within five years.
But the plan was eventually dropped after residents objected to the proposed expenditure.
It was later reported that the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) was at the time looking for money in its budget to deal with the birds.
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“We need a budget for eradicating the birds, ecosystem balance and mood of ‘killing’ them. But a study was to be conducted by KWS,” Nation.Africa quoted a source at the time.
Even National Environmental Management Authority was drawn into the debate, with the environmental watchdog saying only KWS has the mandate to deal with the birds.
So, as it stands, don’t go about killing the Indian house crows – or any other bird species for that matter – without the authorisation of KWS. Other than not receiving any cash for your efforts, you might only get into trouble with the authorities.
Happy new month!
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