Rita Odafe
A Kenyan court imposed fines exceeding $7,000 on four individuals, including two Belgian teenagers, on May 6, for attempting to illegally export thousands of live ants. This case has garnered attention due to concerns about bio-piracy.
The defendants—18-year-olds David Lornoy and Seppe Lodewijckx from Belgium, alongside Duh Hung Nguyen from Vietnam and Dennis Nganga from Kenya—admitted to having the ants but claimed there was no intent to traffic them.
The Belgian teens were caught in Nakuru County with 5,000 queen ants in over 2,200 tubes. Their accomplices, Duh and Nganga, had ants stored in syringes and containers. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) labeled the case as bio-piracy, stating the suspects aimed to export the ants to lucrative markets in Europe and Asia.
During the ruling, Senior Magistrate Njeri Thuku compared the illegal wildlife trade to historical injustices, emphasizing its severity. She highlighted the cruel conditions the transported ants would face, drawing parallels to the slave trade.
The court also revealed that Lornoy was an “ant enthusiast” and actively participated in an online community dedicated to ant keeping. He claimed he was unaware of the legal implications of transporting ants in Kenya. The seized ants included the rare Messor cephalotes species, with one queen valued at $99. The overall estimated value of the confiscated ants was about $7,740.
In Kenya, possessing wildlife without a permit can lead to fines up to $10,000 or imprisonment for at least five years. The court ruled that each of the four must pay a fine of one million shillings or face a year in jail. The magistrate noted that while the Belgians didn’t resemble typical poachers, the case highlighted ongoing foreign exploitation of Africa’s natural resources.
The KWS reiterated its stance, categorizing the offense as a wildlife crime and a clear case of bio-piracy, emphasizing that the suspects intended to supply high-demand exotic pet markets with rare insect species.
