Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Minister of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism, Rizik Hassan Zakaria, has promised to conserve endangered wildlife species after over 500 different products were seized in Renk.
He made the remarks on Thursday, a few days after wildlife security officers seized several wildlife products in Renk County, Upper Nile State. The trophies were alleged to have originated from Jonglei State.
Mr Hassan said the wildlife products seized by the security apparatus in Renk included over 250 skins of crocodile, hides of hippopotamus, and over 300 skins of python.
He revealed that wildlife authorities were able to confiscate about 379 hides from different wild animals at Juba International Airport last year from foreign smugglers who used the airport as a traffic outlet.
“There are so many cases of such happening, but I am quite hopeful and assure [you] that with the current reformation processes, which are still ongoing, we will be seriously concerned with the wildlife aspect,” Hassan stressed. Hassan said ignorance about the importance of wildlife to the country’s revenue has contributed to rampant illegal poaching.
“The cases are all over the country because people are not fully aware of the benefits and partial contribution of wildlife to the economy. People are still using wildlife as meat rather than using wildlife for its tourist aspects,” he said.
Besides hosting the second-largest population of wildlife in the world, South Sudan also has the second-largest wildlife migration after neighbouring Kenya with the migratory route crossing through the park.
The country has more than six national parks and more than 13 game reserves providing a home to endangered species, including elephants, cheetahs, ostrich, crocodiles, and pangolins, among others.
Some national parks in the country include Boma National Park where most of the poaching has been taking place, Bandignilo National Park, Lantoto National Park, Nimule National Park, and Shambe National Park,
Mr Hassan said South Sudan’s wildlife population was affected by the unprecedented flooding in the past two years, destroying their protected sites in the lowland as well as affecting animal migration last year.
“With the flood, they (wildlife) have been displaced and our migration, which is the second migration worldwide this year (2021), has never moved as smoothly as it.”
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