Wildlife authorities to conduct DNA testing on smuggled ivory and pangolin scales

An official from the Wildlife Conservation Society says DNA testing will be done on a consignment of smuggled ivory and pangolin scales that was intercepted in Uganda to determine its origin. 

The 750 pieces of ivory and thousands of scales were discovered last week by Ugandan authorities, concealed in a cargo of timber which they said had crossed the border from South Sudan.

The Uganda Revenue Authority believes the items had been packed at a smuggling centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo and transited through South Sudan.

An anti-trafficking Coordinator with South Sudan Wildlife Conservation Society, Paul Peter Awol says they are working with the South Sudan Wildlife Ministry and authorities in Uganda to carry out genetic tests to find out where the smuggled items came from.

In a related development, Paul Peter Awol is concerned about weak law enforcement in the national parks which he says poses an immediate threat to the country’s natural resources.

He spoke to Sworo Charles Elisha about the state of wildlife in South Sudan in this interview.