Leading ivory trade investigator killed in Kenya
A world-renowned ivory investigator whose detailed reports contributed to the fight against elephant poaching and the illegal wildlife trade has been killed at his home in Kenya, police said on Monday.
Esmond Martin, 75, died after being stabbed at his house in the Nairobi suburb of Langata on Sunday afternoon.
“He was found dead in his house and had stab wounds,” said a police officer. “An investigation has been launched.”
Martin, an American who lived in Kenya for decades, focused on the demand end of the illegal ivory supply chain, describing, quantifying and analysing the Asian ivory markets in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos and elsewhere.
His groundbreaking investigations are credited with contributing to China’s decision to close its legal ivory markets last year, said Paula Kahumbu, a leading Kenyan elephant expert and chief executive of Wildlife Direct, a conservation group.
photo credit: John Piekos