Confiscated African Grey parrots. Image by LauraUGANDA border customs officers this week intercepted parrots in a smuggling racket from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda. The culprits, however, escaped in the process of verifying the authenticity of the transaction. A hunt for them by various security agencies is said to be underway.

The interception of the racket should be commended; however, the escape of the culprits raises some concerns.

The claim for a request to collect other documents for a purported export consignment should have sounded an alarm that this was no ordinary business deal. The culprits should have been escorted to pick the necessary documents or other security agencies should have been alerted to monitor and keep a close watch on them.

Because the destination of the parrots was not Uganda, this was a missed opportunity to net possible key suspects in an international smuggling racket. Parrots are said to be fetching up to $1,500 each on the international market. Though they are among the permitted traded species in Uganda, experts say their numbers in the country are not known because no census has been conducted.

Uganda has not yet developed a wildlife trade policy though the Uganda Wildlife Authority has been running a pilot on wildlife trade for the past 10 years. There is no capacity yet to monitor, rear or transport the wildlife for trade. This makes Uganda an easy route for illegal wildlife trade and favours the creation of syndicates between locally authorised dealers and smugglers from other countries.

There is need to put in place a wildlife trade policy. Only then can vigilance of implementers, like customs officers, be guaranteed. There should also be constant sensitisation, information sharing and increased coordination between the wildlife authority and customs department to improve understanding of trade procedures and policies that affect wildlife.