Snare removal project 179Snare removal project
In 1962, the Busingiro chimpanzee community at Budongo studied by my wife and
myself (Reynolds 1965; Reynolds and Reynolds 1965) had, we estimated, between 60
and 80 members. I may be wrong, but I don’t recall seeing one with a missing hand or
foot, or a ruined hand.
Sugiyama (1968: 230) reports on one chimpanzee, Mkono (the word means ‘arm’ in
Swahili), of the Busingiro community who had no right hand. Suzuki (1971) mentioned
the same individual, Mkono, and included a photograph of him showing that his right
hand and wrist were completely missing. This unfortunate individual was later shot by
an American researcher with an anaesthetic dart gun and died after falling to the ground
(Suzuki 1972). The initial injury is very likely to have been caused by an encounter with
a trap, probably while crop-raiding, although at that time, before the Amin wars, there
were buffaloes in Budongo and the trap might have been set for one of them.
In other words, snare and trap injuries were rare 40 years ago. At that time, the traditional
Bunyoro method of hunting was to go out communally from the village andhunt over the
woodland savannah countryside using dogs and long nets, driving game into the nets.
We did find some snares in the forest but not the large numbers that are found today.
Together with the students and staff of BFP, I have spent the years since we re-started
the Project in 1990 trying to think of a way to solve the problem of snares and chim-
panzees. On the one hand, as stated earlier, people do depend on meat for high-quality
protein and children benefit from a protein meal when they can get it. Should we tell
them that they must not set snares in the forest? Then there is the case of traps. Traps
are mainly set to scare and kill baboons that raid farmers’ fields. Baboons can do
inestimable damage to growing crops (Hill 1997). Chimpanzees are less troublesome to
farmers, being scarcer and taking less food (Johnson 1993; Hill 1997). But they too get
caught by the traps. Should we therefore tell farmers they must not protect their crops
with traps?
After years of discussion among ourselves and with the authorities, we at BFP
decided the answer to both questions (concerning removal of snares and of traps) was
‘Yes’. We should resolutely oppose the setting of snares and traps in and around
Budongo Forest. In the case of leg-hold traps, these are actually illegal. We have been in
discussion with the Masindi Local Government Environmental Protection Unit and they
have passed a by-law to that effect.^68 Enforcement is the problem. Because these traps
are set outside the forest, around farmers’ private fields and in householders’ private
gardens where they have paw-paw trees and other fruits and vegetables to protect, there
is little chance of finding and removing them.
(^68) Section 26 (5) of Ordinance Supplement No. 2 to the Uganda GazetteNo. 61, Volume XCV, dated
8 November 2002, which states that non-selective vermin control methods including snares, poison and
metal traps shall not be used. Section 28 gives the penalty for infringement as a fine of one currency point:
approximately 20 000 shillings (equivalent to less than £7 or $13) or imprisonment not exceeding one month.
While applauding such legislation it has to be noted that the penalties are small and, more importantly, that
at the present time enforcement is lacking.