TSAVO EAST GAME PARK, Kenya (CNN) -- Rangers working at Kenya's wildlife parks have been butting heads with nearby farmers over animal protection laws.

Kenya has long fought to enforce anti-poaching and wildlife conservation laws, so people can enjoy some of nature's most magnificent beasts.

But sometimes people have needed protection from the protected animals. Kenya's agricultural regions have reported many instances of people being maimed in animal attacks -- and some fatalities.

Madame Mabara and her 8 children live on a farm next to Tsavo East Game Park, one of more than 60 protected reserves in Kenya. Four years ago, Mabara's husband was trampled to death by an elephant. "It threw him up in the air with its tusks. There wasn't a bone in his body that wasn't broken," Mabara said.

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But beyond the risk to their safety, farmers worry about the financial impact of protected wildlife. Cattle are easy prey for lions. Elephants and buffalo trample homes and crops. Some farmers want more protection themselves.


Mabara and her 8 children live on a farm next to Tsavo East Game Park

The issue has prompted some government officials to announce that it's acceptable to kill protected species in self-defense.

"When it attacks our animals, when it attacks our people, we definitely have to kill that animal. Definitely," said Basil Mwakiringo of Kenya's parliament.

But self-defense also is an issue for the animals. "It's only when an animal feels threatened that in self-defense it attacks that person," said Gibson Mwaluma, of the Kenya Wildlife Service.

As a partial solution, Mwakiringo has proposed an increase in compensation a Kenyan family receives when a family member is killed in an animal attack. Mwakiringo's proposal would hike that compensation from its current level of $400 to $400,000, plus market-value compensation for crop damage caused by animals.

Correspondent Alphonso Van Marsh contributed to this report.

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