Baboons hamper education in Uganda

Kampala, Uganda



16 March 2005 04:53

Bands of marauding baboons in eastern Uganda are forcing parents to keep their children at home to guard crops, causing rampant absenteeism in the region's primary schools, officials said on Wednesday.

More than 85% of children in Uganda's Busia district are staying home from school due primarily to the menace of the baboons, which are attacking gardens and farms to feast on fruits and vegetables grown there.

"This has forced many parents to deploy their children to guard and scare away the animals instead of sending them to school," Busia district council chairperson Stephen Wanyama Oundo said.

He said the parents' actions are affecting the Ugandan government's programme to provide free primary education to all children, as an estimated six out of seven elementary school-age children are not going to classes.

The speaker of Busia's local legislature, John Mulimba, was quoted in the local press as saying teachers are also staying at home to guard their crops against the creatures.

Oundo said the district is seeking help from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in dealing with the unruly and often menacing baboons.

But UWA spokesperson Lillian Nsibuga said the animals are categorised as vermin and can be managed by local authorities.

Oundo said this is of little comfort in Busia because the district does not have enough manpower to deal with the pests, and animal-control officers invited from neighbouring districts could offer only questionable advice on the matter.

Busia's farmers were told they should protect their crops by planting thorny trees around gardens and fields, according to Oundo, who said that remedy has yet to work. -- Sapa-AFP

Shoot every single one of them.

quote:

Originally posted by Zero Drift:
Shoot every single one of them.

YEP!!....... OPEN SEASON!