Fourteen (14) staff of Uganda Wildlife Authority completed a seven (7) day intensive training in Electric fencing that ended this week at Uganda Wildlife Research and Training Institute (UWRTI) Katwe, Kasese district. The trainees were passed out by the Chief Warden Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area Pontius Ezuma and are now the first electric fence experts from among UWA staff.  They trainees were drawn from were drawn from Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, Kidepo Valley, Kibale, Mount Elgon Conservation Areas and Headquarters.   

The training was funded by Space for Giants under a project known as Skilling UWA staff in addressing Human Wildlife Conflict and it come one month after UWA staff were successfully train in data analysis through ArcGIS.

Present at the pass out among others were the Principle UWRTI Godfrey Baluku, Space for Giants liaison officer Uganda Justus Tusubira and Peter Hays a Consultant from INSTARECT Kenya!

Uganda Wildlife authority has identified electric fence as a more sustainable measure of deterring animals from moving outside the protected areas where they destroy peoples’ crops and sometimes cause injuries or death to people.

The authority has so far constructed 101 kilometres of electric fence around Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks.

The fence construction around protected areas in Uganda started with a pilot of 10 Kilometres that were constructed at Kyambura around Queen Elizabeth National Park and commissioned by His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni in August 2019.

Uganda Wildlife Authority currently receives an average of 100 problem animal cases weekly and 98% of these are crop destruction