A team of highly trained dogs has become one of Uganda’s strongest weapons against wildlife traffickers. Now, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has assumed full responsibility for managing this canine unit, in a shift that conservationists say will secure the program’s long-term future. The takeover ends nearly a decade of joint management with the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), which helped establish the initiative in 2016. Over the years, the dogs have sniffed out ivory, pangolin scales, and other illegal products, protecting Uganda's wildlife while discouraging smugglers from using the country as a transit route.