ANT TRAFFICKERS CONVICTED IN KENYA
ANT TRAFFICKERS CONVICTED IN KENYA: Pictured are samples of garden ants concealed in syringes that were presented to court during a recent hearing in Kenya. The court on Wednesday fined four men US$7 700 each for attempting to traffic thousands of ants out of the country, in a case that wildlife experts say signals a shift in biopiracy from iconic animals like elephants to lesser-known species.
Authorities arrested two Belgian teenagers, a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan national in April, accusing them of trying to smuggle roughly 5 440 giant African harvester ant queens, which Kenyan prosecutors valued at around 1.2 million Kenyan shillings (US$9 300).
However, retail prices in the UK suggest the haul may have fetched as much as US$1 million if it had reached European shores, where ant keepers maintain colonies in large transparent vessels known as formicariums to observe their cooperative behaviour.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PHOTO: REUTERS
Authorities arrested two Belgian teenagers, a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan national in April, accusing them of trying to smuggle roughly 5 440 giant African harvester ant queens, which Kenyan prosecutors valued at around 1.2 million Kenyan shillings (US$9 300).
However, retail prices in the UK suggest the haul may have fetched as much as US$1 million if it had reached European shores, where ant keepers maintain colonies in large transparent vessels known as formicariums to observe their cooperative behaviour.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PHOTO: REUTERS
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