Rigby rifle auction funds return of kob antelope to Karamoja

About 200 Uganda kob were trucked into Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve in Karamoja in August 2026, the first of their kind to graze that ground in roughly 60 years, in a reintroduction funded by hunters and safari outfitters rather than general conservation donors.

Snapshot

Shooting UK reports that outfitter Ade Langley spent seven years arranging the move, which drew kob from Murchison Falls National Park to restock Pian Upe beneath Mount Kadam. The funding came from a rifle-and-safari auction lot, with gunmaker John Rigby & Co, Karimojong Overland Safaris, and Dallas Safari Club covering the gap when bidding fell short.

Key points

• The rifle: John Rigby & Co donated a W.D.M. Bell Highland Stalker rifle, a nod to the company's historic client W.D.M. "Karamojo" Bell, who hunted the same ground over a century ago.
• The buyers: The Nicholas family of Indiana bought the rifle-and-seven-day-safari lot at the 2025 Dallas Safari Club convention; the rifle itself stays in their Indiana collection rather than traveling to Uganda.
• The money: Dallas Safari Club and its foundation topped up the auction proceeds, bringing total project funding to about $62,000, including the environmental impact assessment.
• The poaching problem: According to the article, about 98% of remaining Uganda kob live inside parks and reserves, and snaring is cited as the main threat to the species outside protected ground.
• What's next: The herd will be left undisturbed for at least five years; a limited, sustainably managed hunting quota may follow if the population establishes itself.

Quick take

Langley told Shooting UK that the core point people should take from this is that it's hunters' money making the reintroduction happen. For Blade Shopper readers who follow safari rifles and conservation funding, it's a clear case study in how auction dollars and client relationships translate into actual animals on the ground.

Read the full story: shootinguk.co.uk