Poaching in Uganda’s protected wildlife areas has gone down by up to 70% since the lockdown was eased in June. This is according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Wildlife and forests were the most affected by natural resources when the country introduced measures to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus which led to most business activities to stalling.
While there are persons who engage in poaching and wildlife trade as their main activity, though illegal, the lockdown is said to have forced many others to join the practice for survival as they no longer had access to their jobs.
But Uganda Wildlife Authority UWA says the influx of people from Kampala to the villages made matters worse because it increased the number of unemployed persons in the countryside.
Unlike serial poachers who use sophisticated methods like firearms, there was a sharp increase in the use of snares or traps to catch the animals, with the offenders trying to take advantage of a possible absence of park security.
The most affected animals were the medium size ones like the antelopes, which they hunted for either home consumption or sale.
However, UWA Executive Director, James Mwandha says the incidences have since gone down for example, in the Bwindi forest areas, by 70%.
Mwandha was launching a new drive to boost the tourism sector and especially visits Uganda’s wildlife areas.
