WEST NILE LIVESTOCK TRADERS CALL FOR END TO LIVESTOCK MOVEMENT RESTRICTIONS

The recent three trucks impounded by the security containing 105 pigs at Ayivu West Division Police Station in Onduparaka (All photos by Onzoma Albert)

By Onzoma Albert

Arua City

The livestock traders in West Nile region, are appealing to the government through the Ministry of Health to lift animal movement restrictions currently enforced in the region due to ongoing disease outbreaks and presidential executive orders on unregulated livestock movement.

The restrictions are primarily driven by efforts to control Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) through quarantines and to regulate migrant herdsmen, especially in light of recent Ebola cases in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and recurring transboundary animal diseases.

The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) 4th Infantry Division, alongside the Ministry of Health, has strictly implemented livestock movement controls, including suspending cross-border animal trade in West Nile to prevent public health crises.

The impounded livestock been offloaded at the new regional livestock market at Kova Cell, in Onduparaka.

Noah Asiku, a livestock trader, explains that traders operate largely on loans from financial institutions, making it difficult to repay these loans amidst the restrictions, which also clash with their family needs. Asiku and others are pleading for government support to ease or lift restrictions.

“When I was coming back to Arua City with my livestock I was arrested at Kololo with all my pigs in a truck where most of them died and I was left with very few of them, since that time the road has been blocked for us, we are not currently doing business as usual and paying back the loans has become very hard for us, if there is a way government should come to our rescue” he said.

These measures have severely impacted West Nile’s economy, which is a major hub for cross-border animal trade. Typically, between five and fifteen trucks of livestock enter Arua daily, amounting to over 8,000 animals monthly.

Joyce Bako, a female livestock trader, reports that her livestock were recently impounded due to the ban, affecting her livelihood and prompting her to call for urgent government intervention to resume trade activities.

“I really don’t know what government can do for us but we still want to continue with this business, we have children who need support in terms of school fees and basic needs and if this livestock movement ban continues I don’t know how we shall survive with our children, we have nowhere else to go and we don’t have any other business to do apart from this” she said.

Ayivu Division Veterinary Officer pouring petrol on the dead animals to be burned.

Local traders argue that outright bans cause significant financial hardship and create incentives for smuggling across porous borders. To address traceability issues, the West Nile Livestock Traders Association has initiated a mandatory registration process for over 200 traders to improve monitoring and accountability.

Patrick Okiror, West Nile Livestock traders Association Chairman, confirmed that they have engaged security authorities to permit traders to operate under strict security protocols, rather than complete bans.

“We had a meeting and we had also written to the division command of 4th infantry division in Gulu and requested him to allow the traders to operate the livestock business to specific destinations to Arua City Abattoir for the other livestock’s and our newly gazzetted livestock in Onduparaka for pigs” he said.

Traders source livestock from regions such as Acholi, Lango, and Karamoja, with supply routes passing through districts like Hoima, Lira, Masindi, Bulisa, and Kiboga.

The government has fortified major checkpoints at Pakwach and Bondo in Arua District for vetting herds before entry to Arua City. Additionally, plans are underway to establish a modern livestock market at Kova Cell in Onduparaka to centralize monitoring, tax compliance, and disease surveillance.

Military leaders, including Maj Gen Felix Busizoori, have engaged traders across West Nile, Lango, and Acholi regions to develop structured compliance systems to facilitate legal trade rather than relying solely on prohibitive bans.