Kenyan Ant Smuggling Ring Sentenced: $1.17 Million in Queen Ants Confiscated
A Kenyan court sentenced four men—two Belgians, a Vietnamese national, and a Kenyan—to one year in prison or a $7,700 fine for smuggling thousands of queen ants. The men, who pleaded guilty, claimed the ants were for a hobby, but the judge cited the large quantity (over 5,000 ants in total) and the valuable nature of the giant African harvester ants. The court deemed the activity illegal wildlife trade and possibly bio-piracy, highlighting the ecological impact of removing such a significant number of ants. The Kenya Wildlife Service celebrated the ruling as a victory against wildlife trafficking.
John Q. Hosedrinker