Elephants walk at Queen Elizabeth National Park in the western Ugandan district of Kasese, January 31, 2017. (Xinhua/Ronald Ssekandi)
KAMPALA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Ephraim Kamuntu, Ugandan Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, has warned that proceeds from wildlife trafficking could be used to sponsor other global crimes like terrorism.
Kamuntu was speaking in Kampala, Uganda's capital on Thursday during a meeting on enhancing co-ordination among law enforcement agencies to combat wildlife crime.
"Let's enhance our efforts in combating wildlife crime and not allow these criminals to use Uganda as a conduit," Kamuntu said.
He reminded the law enforcers that the United Nations had classified illegal wildlife trade and trafficking alongside money laundering and terrorism.
"We still have co-ordination gaps amongst law enforcers. This meeting will help us take stock of efforts in combating wildlife crime and agree on how to strengthen synergies that will make our response to wildlife crime robust," he added.
Some of the parts trafficked from Uganda include ivory and skins of hippos, warthogs, monitor lizards, leopards and pythons among others.
Bashir Hangi, Communication Manager at Uganda Wildlife Authority told Xinhua by telephone on Thursday that wildlife crime was "a serious issue globally so it is no wonder if UN comes in to classify it together with terrorism".
"People will no longer take it lightly. It gives global solidarity against such crimes. We really need punitive measures to curtail such," he said.
He added that wildlife trafficking was likely to cut down on government foreign earning. Tourism is Uganda's top foreign exchange earner, generating 1.35 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.