UWEC removes snake sculpture from roadside
Snake sculpture that was taken back to UWEC after being rejected by the public to be on the roadside. Photo | Eve Muganga
What you need to know:
- Mr James Musinguzi, the Executive Director of UWEC told the Monitor in an interview on Thursday that the snake sculpture alongside other animal sculptures was set up in a bid to promote tourism but seems to be scaring road users
Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC), formerly known as Entebbe Zoo, has withdrawn a snake sculpture from the roadside after getting negative feedback from the community.
Mr James Musinguzi, the Executive Director of UWEC told the Monitor in an interview on Thursday that the snake sculpture alongside other animal sculptures was set up in a bid to promote tourism but seems to be scaring road users.
“UWEC embarked on a journey to set up animal sculptures along Entebbe road, and among them include snakes like pythons and cobras, near Entebbe Mayor’s garden. However, we got negative feedback from the communities, including schools and residents indicating that some people have a phobia for snakes. Since our earlier intentions were not to scare people, we decided remove them as we do the sensitization so that in future we could return them,” he said.
He, however, noted that other sculptures like that of Crocodiles, Elephants, Gorillas, Lions, Leopards and Buffalos, caused a lot of excitement, positively influencing people towards visiting the Zoo and National parks to see the animals in their natural settings.
“Not everybody can like everything neither can everybody hate everything. Some people are in love with snakes and were taking photos with the snake sculptures, while others wouldn’t want to associate with the snake because of the creation stories in the bible. We are going to sensitize them on how to live with snakes, what to do when you get a snake bite so that people can appreciate and understand that snakes are also part of the ecosystem,” said Mr Musinguzi.
Mr Paul Masaba, the Director of Passionate Ventures, who made the sculptures said: “What came through my mind when the community got scared of the snake sculpture was the need to make the public know that this is not a real snake, but of course, there are people with their own beliefs, some don’t like snakes, some think they are satanic. People need to realise that these snakes were created by God and should we appreciate and learn to live with them.”
