NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The Kenya Wildlife Service said it plans to create a forensic and genetic laboratory following a pledge of KES16 million ($188,235) from the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics of the American Museum of Natural History.
The pledge from the institute will go toward the purchase of equipment for the laboratory, which will be situated in Nairobi. KWS also said that George Amato, Sackler's director, has pledged to support training, collaborative research, and exchange programs for the laboratory.
The laboratory will support research directed at population genetics and is expected to reduce poaching "by providing credible prosecutorial evidence in court," KWS said in a statement, adding "[t]he forensic laboratory will be a state-of-the-art facility and a regional referral center for molecular diagnostics of wildlife-related crimes."
KWS is a wildlife conservation and management organization.