NAIROBI, KENIA (AP) – Two Belgian teenagers were accused of piracy in the wild on Tuesday after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said, is part of a trend on the market in smaller and less well -known species.
Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on 5 April with 5,000 ants in a guest house, lay down in their appearance for a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted by family members in court. They told the magistrate that they collected the ants in front of fun and did not know it was illegal.
In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis Ng'ang'a and Vietnamese duh Hunguyen were also accused of illegal human trafficking in the same courtroom, after their arrest during possession of 400 ants.
The Kenya Wildlife Service, or KWS, said in a statement that the four men were involved in trading the ants to markets in Europe and Asia, and that the kind of Messor Cephaloten included, a distinctive, large and red-colored harvesters in East Africa.
The illegal export of the ants “not only undermine the sovereign rights of Kenya about its biodiversity, but also robs local communities and research institutions for potential ecological and economic benefits,” said KWS.
In the past, Kenya has fought against the actions of body parts of larger types of wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and pangolines, among other things. But the cases against the four men represent “a shift in trends in the trade of iconic large mammals to less well-known but ecologically critical species,” said KWS.
The two Belgians were arrested in Nakuru County in Kenya, who is home to various national parks. The 5,000 ants were found in a guest house where they stayed and were packed in 2,244 test tubes that were filled with cotton wool to survive the ants for months.
The other two men were arrested in Nairobi, where they turned out to have 400 ants in their apartments.
Kenyan authorities appreciated the ants on 1 million shilling ($ 7,700). The prices for ants can vary greatly according to the species and the market.
Philip Muiruthi, a vice -president for nature conservation at the Africa Wildlife Foundation in Nairobi, said ants play the role of enriching soils, making germination possible and offering food for species such as birds.
“The thing is, when you see a healthy forest, such as Ngong Forest, you don't think about what makes it healthy. It is the relationships completely from the bacteria to the ants to the bigger things,” he said.
Muiruthi warned of the risk of types of human trafficking and the export of diseases to the agricultural industry of the countries of the destination.
“Even if there is trade, it must be regulated and nobody should take our resources like this,” he said.
