World Animal Protection, the organization advocating for the rights and protection of wild animals in Uganda, has appealed to the government to put in place policies that will see laws that protect wild animals operationalize.

This was revealed by Edith Kabesiime, the Wildlife Campaign Manager at World Animal Protection, while addressing the media at the Hotel Africana ahead of World Snake Day 2023, which is celebrated annually on July 16.

Kabesiime said many people in Uganda have been given permission to keep wild animals captive, adding that this has in turn given way to illegal wild animal captivity.

She also appealed to the government to put an end to legal wildlife trading since this endangers the animals.

“As an organization, we don’t mind whether it’s legal or not; we say that all kinds of wildlife trade are wrong and it has to stop because legal trade is the one that brings illegal trade. Now the government needs to see that even legal trade is stopped because people use it as cover for illegal trade through corruption,’’ said Kabesiime.

Kabesiime also urged the public to protect the rights of the snakes because they play an important role in controlling the population of rats, saying that keeping the snakes in captivity erodes their value to ecosystems.

Timothy Omara, a Researcher from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, suggested plants like Amaryllidaceae that repel snakes due to their onion smell.

This Year’s World Snake Day will be celebrated this Sunday, July 16, to raise awareness about snakes and mobilise support for their protection and conservation.