The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has deployed canine units at the Busia and Malaba border posts to help detect and stop the illegal trafficking of wildlife and wildlife products.
The sniffer dogs are being used alongside scanners, X-ray machines and other security measures as authorities intensify checks on trucks and buses entering the country through the two border points.
Abdallatif Mwanja, the head of UWA’s Canine Unit Department, said the deployment is aimed at curbing wildlife crime by making it harder for traffickers to conceal and move illegal wildlife products across the borders.
“We have personnel all over who are helping, working in conjunction with the other security agencies to curb illegal wildlife trafficking,” he said.
He said the canine teams are checking vehicles arriving at the border to detect wildlife products that may have been concealed inside trucks and buses.
“We have all the security agencies alert to the task. We enhance, we have the scanners, we have the dogs, the X-ray,” he said.
Mr Mwanja said combining the different security measures would make it increasingly difficult for people involved in wildlife trafficking to use Uganda’s border points to move their illicit goods.
“When we beef up that, we make life very difficult for people who would want to traffic wildlife products through the borders, or else they completely even stop,” he said.
UWA officials said unscrupulous dealers involved in illegal wildlife activities often seek to exploit border points to move wildlife and wildlife products across countries.
The heightened checks at Busia and Malaba have also attracted attention from residents and business people operating around the border areas, with the increased security activity generating excitement among some members of the community.
The deployment forms part of wider efforts by security agencies to strengthen surveillance at Uganda’s entry points and prevent the illegal movement of wildlife products.
