5,000 ants got Belgian teens in trouble: $7,700 fine or 12-month jail in Kenya
Teenagers were trafficking rare East African ants, including Messor cephalotes, a large red harvester species, for markets in Europe and Asia.
Two Belgian teenagers who were caught with 5,000 ants in Kenya were handed a $7,700 fine or given the option to serve 12 months in prison, the maximum sentence for the offence, after being found guilty of violating wildlife conservation laws.
Authorities said the teenagers were in possession of the ants, which were intended for markets in Europe and Asia, highlighting a growing trend in the trafficking of lesser-known wildlife species, the Associated Press reported.
The two Belgian nationals, Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both aged 19, were arrested on April 5 at a guest house in possession of 5,000 ants. Formal charges were filed against them on April 15.
During the court proceedings at Kenya’s main airport on Wednesday, magistrate Njeri Thuku said in her ruling that although the teenagers claimed they were naive and collecting the ants as a hobby, the species in question was valuable and they possessed them in the thousands, not just a few.
According to the Kenya Wildlife Service, the teenagers were trafficking the ants for markets in Europe and Asia. The species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large, red-coloured harvester ant that is native to East Africa.
In an official statement, the Kenya Wildlife Service added that the illegal export of these ants “not only undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits.”
Kenya’s wildlife protection laws impose a mandatory minimum fine of $10,000 and a prison term of up to five years for the illegal possession or export of any wildlife species.
The Kenya Wildlife Service also said the country has previously focused on combating the trafficking of body parts from larger wild animals such as elephants, rhinos, and pangolins.
Illegal wildlife trafficking is now recognized as the world’s fourth-largest illicit trade, with an estimated value of $25 billion annually, according to INTERPOL.
With AFP inputs
