Saving Uganda’s Wildlife Through Community Outreach

Introduction

I am a Chief Magistrate and head of Uganda’s only Wildlife Court. Through this experience, I have seen firsthand why beyond the courtroom, it is important to prevent harm before it happens! By the time a wildlife case is reported and prosecuted before me, it is already too late. It is too late because the animal has already been harmed or killed. Therefore, although arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating offenders is part of the solution, it is essential to also focus on interventions to prevent wildlife crime, particularly in countries where poverty is a key driver of it. This community outreach and intervention to stop wildlife crime in local communities in Uganda is the focus of my Global Ambassador Project.

Uganda’s Animals Are at Risk

Uganda is home to many of the world’s well-known wildlife, including iconic African mammals such as elephants and rhinos, as well as pangolins, who are believed to be the most trafficked mammals globally, and other small wildlife species and aquatic life. Uganda is a party to international and regional conventions that protect wildlife and has enacted laws that prohibit wildlife crime. Despite these legal protections some of the country’s wildlife is endangered and some species are facing extinction due to poaching, illegal wildlife trade, and habitat loss, among other reasons.

It is estimated that half of Uganda’s wildlife resides outside the gazetted National Parks and Wildlife Reserves, often sharing habitats with people on private or community land. Wildlife and humans have coexisted since creation. For many Christians in Uganda, humans were given the responsibility of stewarding the earth. This belief emphasizes conservation and renewal as opposed to depletion and destruction. Therefore, rural communities are the stewards of wildlife, serving as its “keepers” and shouldering all the burdens of living with wildlife.

However, the high degree of coexistence between humans and wild animals in Uganda presents significant challenges. The growing human population has led to increased human-wildlife conflict over space, food, and other resources. These, combined with ignorance of the law and the value of wildlife, together with high poverty levels, threaten the existence of wildlife. Rural people are involved in the destruction of wildlife in their areas, and are often used by kingpins to engage in wildlife crime. These factors have led to the loss of lives and increased rates of wildlife crime in the country.

While there are important efforts dedicated to enforcing the law protecting wildlife in Uganda, it is also the case that arrests, prosecutions, and incarcerations of rural people for wildlife crime can threaten the survival of wildlife, since families and communities at large are destabilized. Incarcerating fathers or mothers who are the sole breadwinners of their families leaves children in need. It may also have ramifications for wildlife protection in the future, because these children may themselves turn to wildlife crime due to poverty and limited opportunities. Protecting wildlife, therefore, calls for partnerships with communities. When communities are not involved in conservation, conservation efforts are in vain.

Community Outreach Is a Key Pillar of Wildlife Protection

For the last 16 years, I have served as a judicial officer. For over nine of those years, I have adjudicated wildlife-related crimes. While my role as a magistrate is important, I wanted to do more. Out of my desire to substantially contribute to wildlife protection in Uganda, I founded Help African Animals, a 501(c)(3), during my studies at Lewis & Clark Law School, working with Professor Russ Mead as my faculty mentor. Help African Animals is a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Uganda, registered both in Uganda and the United States of America. It exists to save lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system, and to influence the human mindset and behavior towards animal protection.

As a judicial officer, I sit at the tail end of criminal cases and only have a chance to intervene when things have already gone wrong. I am conscious of the fact that wildlife lost cannot be recovered. With their loss, we lose their value, both intrinsic and extrinsic. Therefore, the damage occasioned by such loss may never be remedied. I am also aware of the role of rural communities in protecting wildlife. Therefore, my goal, and that of Help African Animals, is to prevent harm through interventions that protect wildlife and rural people. It is my belief that incarcerating rural people for wildlife crime increases poverty, which increases the likelihood of harm to wildlife.

The grant from CALS has enabled me, in conjunction with Help African Animals, to hold four community outreaches in Nakaseke District, Uganda, on January 10th, 11th, and April 25th, 2026. Nakaseke district is one of the community wildlife conservation areas in Uganda, where wildlife and the people live in the same ecosystem. The district is, however, one of the hotspot areas for wildlife crimes, especially the poaching of protected species. Wild animals in the district are indiscriminately hunted and painfully killed. Many species are threatened with extinction, while others have been driven to extinction.

In the four outreaches, we met rural people, including the hunters, and their local leaders. We educated them on the need to protect wildlife in their communities, the laws that protect wildlife, and the consequences of violating those laws. The community members were surprised to see me in the community, not as a judge to condemn them for their wrongdoings, but as a person who cared for them, not to be caught on the wrong side of the law, and as one who cared about wildlife in their areas. Seeing a judge in their community and coming close to her were enough to help them understand the importance of the meetings and accept the need to listen and learn. Help African Animals, and I are influenced by the belief that unless people understand, they will not care, and unless they care, they will not help. Therefore, unless rural people understand the need to protect wildlife, they will not protect it. Knowledge about the need to protect animals leads to respect and proper enforcement of the laws, which saves the lives of animals.

In three of the meetings, we were joined by the Members of Parliament of the three areas. On January 10th, we were joined by the Honorable Professor Wilber Ahebwa, Member of Parliament for Nakaseke North Constituency.

On April 25th, we were joined by Honorable Joseph Kyofatogabye Kabuye, the Minister of State for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs and Member of Parliament for Nakaseke Central Constituency. The two Members of Parliament also joined us in educating the people.

One of the most impactful aspects of the community meetings was the attendance of three wildlife-crime ex-convicts whom I had convicted and sentenced. All three spoke at the meetings about their prior offences and they educated the community about the importance of not violating wildlife laws.

Two were arrested in 2022 for unlawful possession of bushmeat. They were produced before me, and I sentenced them to three (3) years’ imprisonment. The third was arrested in 2018 for unlawful possession of bushmeat and was produced before me. I also sentenced him to three (3) years’ imprisonment. For those who may not be familiar with bushmeat, it is meat derived from wild animals. The animals are killed using a combination of brutal methods, including wire snares and traps, which cause slow, painful deaths to the animals, and spears, which are used to spear the animals alive. The bushmeat trade is linked to population decline, species extinction, ecosystem impacts, and the spread of zoonotic diseases.

All three men shared with the people their experiences in prison and the challenges they encountered as a result of the incarcerations. These ranged from selling the little property they had, including their parents’ property, to take care of the families they had left behind, to lack of contact with their families, suffering and sickness in prison, and other issues. They encouraged rural people to avoid wildlife crime and assured them that it is possible to survive without bushmeat. They confessed that they were no longer eating bushmeat, and yet they were surviving well. They specifically called on other youths to pursue other legal means of survival. They were especially grateful to me for going out to the communities and educating the people.

Conclusion

Saving wild animals in Uganda calls for more proactive interventions to prevent their killing and to protect them and the people. Such proactive interventions not only save the animals and people but also save the government from the huge costs associated with arrests, investigations, trials, and the incarceration of wildlife offenders. The proactive interventions also prevent future threats to the animals that would arise from the communities where the animals live, thereby promoting coexistence. Community outreach aimed at increasing awareness of the need to protect wild animals and of the laws that protect them is vital for transforming local communities from threats into important protectors of wildlife.

About the Author A Chief Magistrate, Gladys Kamasanyu leads Africa’s first and only specialized wildlife court in Kampala, Uganda. Through her nonprofit, Help African Animals, she works to raise awareness and build capacity around animal protection, bridging the gap between rural communities and conservation law. Gladys is serving as a Center for Animal Law Studies Global Ambassador from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026. This is the second time that Gladys has been selected to serve as a CALS Ambassador, previously serving from 2022-23.

The Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) was founded in 2008 with a mission to educate the next generation of animal law advocates and advance animal protection through the law. With vision and bold risk-taking, CALS has since developed into a world-renowned animal law epicenter. CALS’ Alumni-in-Action from 30+ countries are making a difference for animals around the world. The advanced degree program is offered in-person and online. CALS is a self-funded Center within the law school operating under the Lewis & Clark College 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, and is able to provide these educational opportunities through donations and grants.