Uganda Wildlife Authority Closes Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to the Public
Uganda Wildlife Authority Closes Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to the Public : Following the recent developments of beefing up security at Ziwa Rhino sanctuary by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Uganda Wildlife has further enforced other measures to ensure protection and safety of the Rhinos at the sanctuary.
In a statement released by the Authority dated April 20th 2021 the Uganda Wildlife Authority states that it has taken full charge the security of the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary located in Nakasongola district with the sole purpose of securing and protecting the Rhinos currently at the sanctuary.
The actions of taking over the security at the sanctuary by the Uganda Wildlife Authority are supported by the Uganda Wildlife Authority Mandate of protecting wildlife resources as per the Uganda Wildlife Act 2019.
With the Uganda Wildlife Authority taking full charge of the security at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, the Authority has decided to close the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary to the public. As the Uganda Wildlife Authority explained in the above mentioned statement; the closing off the sanctuary to the public is to help the process of protecting and securing the Rhinos more effective.
The Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary will be closed to the public with immediate effect sated the Uganda Wildlife Authority and it remain closed till further notice. The closure of the Rhino Sanctuary to the public means that no tourism activities will be done at the sanctuary and no civilian will be allowed to access the sanctuary premises unless authorised by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
The developments come in the midst of the on-going misunderstandings between Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranches (ZRWR) and the Rhino Fund Uganda; the Uganda Wildlife Authority had released a statement last week highlighting the on-going misunderstandings between the parties.
The Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranches (ZRWR) are the current owners of the land where the Rhinos are usually bred and the Rhino Fund Uganda (RFU) is a Non-governmental organisation that has been currently managing the Rhinos at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority, has stated the reason for closing off the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to the Public was entirely for the safety of the Rhino as it deemed the current misunderstandings between Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranches (ZRWR) and Rhino Fund Uganda (RFU) could potentially compromise the safety of the Rhinos hence the decision to close off the sanctuary to the public on top of beefing up security at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. The Uganda Wildlife Authority emphasises that all these measures are entirely to avert the possible threat towards the Rhinos and its acting under its mandate to protect wildlife resources as per the Uganda Wildlife Act 2019.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority further clarifies in the statement that it’s not party of the misunderstandings between Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranches (ZRWR) and Rhino Fund Uganda (RFU) and remains impartial during this whole situation as it stresses its mandate as an Authority.
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the only Place in Uganda where you can find Rhinos, which means the closing of the sanctuary to the public is going to greatly affect tourism activities especially for persons that wish to track Rhinos on their safaris.
Usually people do Rhino tracking as part of their safari activities when they has safaris in Murchison Falls National Park or Kidepo National Park; this is because the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is on the way to both those National parks so it’s easy to track the Rhinos and then continue on to the parks.
None the less, as the Rhino sanctuary remains closed in this season, Uganda still has many animal species that you can enjoy viewing in the wild while on safari in any part of the Uganda.
