POACHING AND TRAFFICKING LEADS TO LIFE IN PRISON UNDER NEW LAW
(Posted 20th February 2019)
Parliament in Uganda yesterday passed the new ‘Uganda Wildlife Authority Bill 2017‘, finally replacing the out of date old Uganda Wildlife Act, which sections on fines and prison terms proved insufficient in recent years to effectively combat poaching, trafficking and smuggling.
The penalties for poaching, illegal hunting, possession of prohibited items, selling and buying of prohibited items now attracts a life prison sentence, seen as a strong deterrent.
While poaching in Uganda is by and large under control is one of the main challenges for local authorities to bring to a halt the smuggling of ivory and other wildlife trophies from neighbouring countries through Uganda.
Only recently were several Vietnamese citizens nabbed in and around Kampala with a record haul of blood ivory, likely to come from Congo or South Sudan – something ongoing forensic tests now seeks to establish.
President Museveni is expected to assent to the new bill in due course and upon affixing his signature to the document make it operational once the Uganda Gazette Notice has been published.
