LAIKIPIA, Kenya, May 11 (Xinhua) — Kenya will fast-track laws to make wildlife poaching a capital offense as part of the country’s bid to conserve flora and fauna, a senior government official said late Thursday.

Najib Balala, the Minister for Tourism and Wildlife, said that once the laws are enacted, the offenders of the wildlife crimes will face the death penalty in accordance with the laws of the land.

“We have in place the Wildlife Conservation Act that was enacted in 2013 and which fetches offenders a life sentence or a fine of 200,000 U.S. dollars. However, this has not been deterrence enough to curb poaching, hence the proposed stiffer sentence,” Balala remarked during the official launch of the northern white rhino commemorative stamps at Ol Pejeta Conservancy located in Laikipia County on the slopes of Mount Kenya.

The initiative to issue a set…