Nairobi High Court Judge Joseph Nyamu ordered the export delayed for at least two months, pending completion of a lawsuit filed against the government by animal welfare and community groups who contend a memorandum of understanding signed last month between Nairobi and Bangkok is illegal.

Two groups -- the Nairobi Community Based Organisations Consortium and Kenya Society for the Protection and Care for Animals -- asked the court last week to quash the deal but Nyamu had delayed a ruling to consider whether the agreement was a treaty and not reviewable by the judiciary.

On Tuesday, Nyamu said he had determined the memorandum of understanding was not a treaty, that the lawsuit could therefore proceed and ordered the transfer of animals suspended.

"The court is satisfied that the MOU between the two countries might not be a treaty," he said. "I therefore grant the temporary order stopping the export for the next 60 days."

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 that had vehemently fought to stop the deal, 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.

"The national heritage of this country should not be left to the disposal of one person or one arm of the government," one of the plaintiff's lawyers, Mbugua Mureithi, told the court.

KWS officials have said they oppose the deal on several grounds, not least of which are concerns for the health of the animals if they are moved to a non-native habitat.

KWS spokeswoman Connie Maina told AFP on Tuesday that the agency had not received any formal notice about the deal, except for a letter from the Thai embassy in Nairobi thanking Kenya for agreeing to give the animals to Thailand.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) welcomed Nyamu's Tuesday order said it hoped the deal would be stopped outright by the lawsuit.

"It gives us hope that the case is seriously being looked into by the legal system in Kenya and we hope it would end in a favorable conclusion for what Kenyans are looking for: the termination of the export deal," IFAW spokeswoman Elizabeth Wamba told AFP.

Last week, more than 500 angry Maasai warriors, tribal elders, women and children staged a raucous protest to stop the planned gift and threatened to shed blood if it goes ahead.

Critics argue the gift is tantamount to giving away Kenya's heritage, potentially hurting the country's critical tourism sector and harming the animals.

Opponents were further outraged in mid-November when a senior Thai official said a restaurant in the 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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