The two, John Opio Okeng and John Okello, residents of Omea B in Aber Sub-County, Oyam District were killed on Sunday night for allegedly hunting wildlife safari animals near the Masindi-Packwach road.

Sources say that a third poacher only identified as Okello, was also shot in the buttocks but survived and is receiving treatment at an undisclosed location.

This is the second group of poachers to be shot dead by game rangers at Murchison Falls National Park in recent weeks.

Tom Arach, the LC3 chairman of Aber, says poaching is one of the most common illegal economic activities in the sub-county. He says many young men are lured into poaching because of the ready market for game meat.

Arach however condemned the practice of game rangers who kill poachers on sight. He says it is cruel and unusual punishment, given the amount of damage stray animals cause on peasant farms when they wander away from the national park.

Daniel Odyek, a resident of Nora village which lies along the border with the national park in Aber Sub-County, says his farm was recently destroyed by marauding elephants from the park. He says he cannot grow any food because of consistent invasion by wildlife.
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The bodies of the slain poachers are being held at the rangers’ base at Karuma. It is expected that they will be picked up for burial later this week.

About Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda

This park is the largest protected area with 3,840 km2 and lies at the core of the greater Murchison falls conservation Area, which also embraces the Bugungu and Karuma wildlife reserves and the Budongo forest. Murchison protects a large part of untamed African Savannah bisected by the mighty River Nile. Here the world’s longest river explodes violently through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment to plunge into a frothing pool 43m below. These are some of the wildlife in the park; Elephant, aardvark, leopard, buffalo, lion, warthog, Uganda kob, bush babies, pangolin, giraffe, civet, hyena, chimpanzee, baboon, crocodile and hippos. The park also has 370 birds including; giant shoebill, bee eater and butterflies. Some of the activities carried out in the park are as follows; game viewing, nature guided walks, launch trips on the Nile to the bottom of the falls, top of the falls viewing, sport fishing and bird watching. Other activities include a forest walk in the nearby Rabongo forest to view a variety of birds and primates including chimps and other rain forest creatures

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