South Sudan calls for immediate stoppage of wildlife killing

By Ngor Arol Garang

January 23, 2010 (KHARTOUM) –The semi-autonomous government of South Sudan has issued strong order calling for immediate stoppage of killing wildlife for commercial purpose.

Speaking to the press in the regional capital of Juba, Frazer Thong, the undersecretary in the government of South Sudan’s ministry of wildlife, conservation and tourism, said commercial killing of wild life poses threat and a contributing factor behind driving them away to the neighboring countries.

South Sudan had lots of forests hosting variety of animals in the past but conflicts have driven them away as they became source of food during wars.

He said that in eighties, while a young boy, wild animals were ever found in good numbers in most of the regional forests such as Kitire in Central Equatoria State.

Other forests in both greater Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile too used to have number of wild animals most of which used to be found around outskirts of rural towns in the evenings and mornings.

The animals continue to remain found around outskirts of the rural towns till the beginning of first civil war commonly known as Anyanya one in the county between the north and South that their presence started to reduce.

The southern populace never used to hunt animals for commercial purpose but as source of food the same way they do for fish.

However, in eighties and particularly during war eras and after the signing of the Addis Abba peace accord, “I began to seeing animals beefs such deer, pigs antelope being sold at open markets and poachers were not being caught,” he said.

The government never showed interest in desertification of forests or conservation of animals instead it was also involved in the hunting by allow government soldiers go out in platoons to shoot and killed them for beef to be sent north for family, the minister further said.

This, he adds, became the driving factor behind the desertion of most animals from southern forests to the neighboring countries such as central Africa republic, Democratic republic of Congo to name but few.

He further states that although south Sudan government formed in 2005 has a policy which discourage killing animals for all purposes, illegal commercial poaching activities in most states continues to be reported.

He stressed this killing of wild animals for commercial use poses great threat to wildlife and as government we do not encourage such traditional practice.

Wildlife contributes to the national economy through tourism because of being cognizant of the role in the national economy; the ministry has issued strict and strong orders banning the killing.

“We are also aware of the spread of unlicensed firearms among local population across the regions making it possible to imperil wild life existence in good number,” he said revealing that wardens are being deployed in strategic forest to reduce their killing for commercial use by local communities.

(ST)