Jan 14 2008
VERVET MONKEYS TO BE EXPORTED TO RUSSIA
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has certified a wildlife broker named Yekoyada Nuwagaba to export 300 Vervet monkeys to Russia. The company has been exporting chameleons and snakes to Europe and right now the Vervet monkeys will be his third exports.
Sam Mwandha, the UWA acting executive director said that this was done to save the communities where vervet monkeys have become a hazard and at the same time sell them and benefit in economic terms.
UWA declared vervet monkeys and olive baboons as pests because of their large populations and propensity to destroy crops. Mwandha said that there have been consistent complaints from the local communities have been getting persistent complaints about vermin said Mwandha. If there is someone who can get the vermin and make economic use of it, they are welcome.
Nuwagaba said UWA inspected and approved his monkey traps. He, however, declined to provide details on the export deal.
A vervet monkey can fetch up to $6,000 in Europe, according to a wildlife expert.
The areas where the company is authorised to trap monkeys include Kampala City, where residents of Muyenga, Bugolobi, Mulago and Ntinda have complained to UWA.
In the last two weeks, Navina has trapped 30 monkeys in Muyenga, one of the posh suburbs of Kampala. The monkey is lured into an open cage with food like bananas. On entering to get the bait, it steps on a mechanism that closes the entrance.
In his proposal, Nuwagaba said he would set up a holding ground with a veterinary doctor to ensure that the primates are in good health.
The primates are on high demand for bio-medical research, such drug and vaccine trials. But Mwandha said the Ugandan monkeys were being taken to animal sanctuaries as exhibits.
The license to export the monkeys has attracted hostile reactions from environmentalists, who insist that wildlife trade has many irregularities.
BY Tanah Hadijah
Uganda safari News
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