Chinese man jailed after trying to smuggle 2,000 live ants out of Kenya

A Chinese man has been jailed after trying to smuggle more than 2,000 live ants out of Kenya.

Zhang Kequn was arrested at Nairobi's main international airport in March after officers found 2,200 live queen garden ants in his luggage.

On Wednesday, he was jailed for 12 months and fined 1 million Kenyan shillings (around £5,700).

The magistrate who heard the case said a harsh sentence was needed as a deterrent, given the growing number of ant-trafficking cases in Kenya, catering for markets in Europe and Asia.

Ant enthusiasts, for example in China, have paid large sums to maintain colonies in large transparent vessels known as formicariums that allow them to study the species' complex social structures and behaviours.

In Zhang's case, the ants were stored in specialised tubes and wrapped in tissue rolls.

Zhang initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, including dealing in live wildlife species, but later changed his plea to guilty. His lawyer said he would appeal against the sentence.

He previously appeared in court with Charles Mwangi, the Kenyan man who supplied Zhang with the ants.

Zhang allegedly paid 60,000 shillings (£340) for an initial batch of 600 ants and 70,000 shillings (£400) for another batch of 700.

Prosecutors said Zhang and Mwangi did not have the permits required under Kenya's wildlife conservation laws to handle or trade in such species.

Zhang's lawyer said after his arrest last month that the men did not know they were breaking the law, adding: "They have seen potential that they are able to sell outside the country, they believe that they can make a living out of it."

Mwangi has pleaded not guilty and has been released on bail. His case was not before the court on Wednesday.

Last year, four men were fined 1 million shillings (£5,700) each for trying to smuggle thousands of ants.

Two Belgian teenagers were charged with wildlife piracy after being found with 5,000 ants in test tubes, said to be destined for European and Asian markets. Kenyan authorities valued the ants at 1 million shillings (£5,700).

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In a separate case, a Kenyan man and a Vietnamese national were also charged with illegal trafficking of 400 ants.

Kenyan wildlife experts said the cases showed a shift in biopiracy from trophies like elephant ivory to lesser-known species.

They said the illegal export of the 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".

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