Recently, a 10-km long deterrent electric fence covering the periphery of the section of Queen Elizabeth National Park was commission by President Yoweri Museveni, the Uganda Media Center has confirmed.
The area which lies in Rubirizi District received this new development as a measure to keep away wildlife animals from raiding farmers’ crops.
This comes to a fulfillment of a pledge by President Museveni to help the communities with their wildlife crisis in relation to crop destruction. Though now at 10km, the aim is that at its completion, the fence is 40km long. The fence that starts at Kakari in Kyambura Gorge is an intervention to stave off human and wildlife conflict that especially targets elephants, which are the most notorious marauding crops of the communities surrounding Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The president informed the gathering at Kyenzaza playground in Rubirizi District the intended 40km will cover between Kicwamba and Kigarama. He soon also added that in the future government will also install CCTV cameras for surveillance purposes against poaching activities.
He then commended the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities along with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) Board for implementing the long-awaited government program. He used the occasion to warn the communities neighboring Queen Elizabeth National Park to avoid tampering with the electric-powered fence saying anyone who does that risks being electrocuted. Before he continued, he re-echoed the warning to make sure everyone present understood.
Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities Minister, Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu observed that the fence is a great government initiative that eliminates the conflict between humans and wildlife species in the park. He clarified that the fence is very effective because it serves to shock and scare away animals but not to kill them. It was important that he added that the community needed to understand that the government was not harming wildlife.
