The British company Tullow Oil is going to implement a new oil well project in the Murchison Falls National Park. The park is situated in northwestern Uganda and it is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The park host many animal species, some of which are rare or endangered.
Therefore the project, as well as an another brutality against pristine wilderness, represents an extremely high risk for animals, especially for Rothschild giraffes that inhabit the area chosen for drilling.
In the world there are fewer than 700 specimens of this mammals – named after British zoologist Lord Walter Rothschild – of which 60% in Uganda.
For this reason the giraffe is considered as endangered species by International Union of Conservation of Nature and added to its Red List.
Furthermore, the oil company is supported by the British government, which would provide UK taxpayer-backed loans and insurance to assist in these oil well operations in Uganda. The reason stand in hug profits: the operation would yield almost £1 bilion to UK businesses, as leaked from some documents.
The financial support of the British government to the Tullow Oil project has been harshly attacked by the Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauver who said: “People will be wondering why the UK Government considered offering taxpayers’ money to a British firm drilling for oil in the heart of one of Uganda’s oldest national parks. Instead of backing risky oil exploration around the world, the Government should help cut our dependence on fossil fuels and support our partners abroad to develop sustainable energy sources.”
A BBC documentary shows how conservationists are focusing their efforts to rescue the giraffes and transfer them from the drilling site to another protected area.
Read more here about wildlife: https://www.oipa.org/international/wildlife/
