In December, a Kenyan judge issued an injunction to postpone the transfer to the Asian nation by at least two months pending the settling of a lawsuit filed against the government by animal welfare and community groups which maintain a memorandum of understanding signed between Nairobi and Bangkok is illegal.

Some 46 conservation groups said the animals that include serval cats, crowned cranes, lesser flamingo and hippopotamus are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which prohibits trade in such animals without authorisation.

"The export of such species sends wrong signals internationally and undermines Kenya's future ability to lobby and safeguard endangered species within the CITES framework," they said in a letter to Kibaki that was published in the local press.

In addition, they said the country's wildlife has declined by 40 to 60 percent between 1977 and 2004 owing to rampant illegal bush meat trade, felling of forests and widespread encroachment into parks and reserves for human settlement.

"There is evidence of drastic decline and even localised extinction of some wildlife species across the country," they said.

"We therefore humbly call upon you to reconsider this deal," they said in the open letter to Kibaki.

On November 9, Kenyan Tourism and Wildlife Minister Morris Dzoro and Thai Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yongyut Tiyapairat signed a deal in Nairobi pledging "cooperation in the field of park and wildlife management."

As part of the agreement, Kenya was to send 175 animals, including zebras, flamingos, buffaloes, wildebeests, hippos, spotted hyena, silver-back jackals and impalas to a soon-to-opened safari park in northern Thailand.

The move drew anger and indignation from wildlife groups arguing it violates Kenyan law, is not in line with established conservation principles and will hurt Kenya's reputation as a leader in the protection of animals.

In their lawsuit, they say Dzoro acted improperly in signing the agreement because he had not consulted the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which by law has wide authority over the conservation and management of the country's wild animals.

"Kenya has a hard-earned reputation for being compassionate and precautionary when it comes to protection of its wildlife. This reputation build over decades, will be placed in jeopardy by this single act, nullifying the international goodwill that accompanies it," they said in the statement.

"The intention to use wildlife gifts to gain diplomatic and economic leverage amounts to trade in disguise and is therefore, in our viewm unethical."

Therefore, if the government obdurately ships the animals to Thailand, there is a likelihood that Kenya Tourism Board will lose its market in the Far East.

"All the hardwork may be lost because there is a strong likelihood of many international tourists who are attracted by our conservation values and policies shunning Kenya as a result of this export," the conservationsts said.

Opponents were further outraged in mid-November when a senior Thai official said a restaurant in the Chiang Mai safari park would offer a daily buffet of giraffe, zebra and crocodile meat to hungry visitors.

After howls of protest, the official said the plans to serve exotic meat in the park would be reviewed.

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