Four men, including two Belgian teenagers, pleaded guilty in a Kenyan court this week on charges of trafficking thousands of live ants, which authorities indicated were intended for sale as pets.
The Belgian teenagers, aged 19, were discovered with the insects at a guesthouse near Lake Naivasha, a popular nature area in Kenya. They possessed thousands of live queen ants, which were packed in syringes and test tubes designed to preserve the insects' viability for several months, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service.
The court determined that the ants were valued at approximately $7,000 and cited intelligence reports suggesting they were destined for exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia.
This unusual case highlights a trend in wildlife smuggling, with Kenyan officials noting that there is potential financial gain in trafficking smaller, lesser-known species, in addition to the high-value species typically associated with such crimes. Examples include live beetles hidden in snack packs from Japan and live coral being smuggled through U.S. ports.
The Kenya Wildlife Service commented on the case, stating, “This case highlights a growing global threat: the biopiracy of native species.” The agency emphasized that the unauthorized collection of these ants undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity and deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits.
The queen ants involved in the case are highly sought after by rare insect collectors, who often maintain colonies in artificial setups known as formicariums to observe their complex behaviors. The species in question, Messor cephalotes, is recognized as the largest harvester ant globally and is native to Kenya.
Additionally, two other individuals, a Kenyan citizen and a Vietnamese national, were charged in a separate incident involving the illegal collection of ants and wildlife dealings. They were found with hundreds of live garden ants valued at around $1,500, as reported by the wildlife service.
In conjunction with the arrests, the Kenya Wildlife Service released images depicting a living room cluttered with test tubes, cotton swabs, and packing materials. The meticulously arranged tubes, some containing multiple live ants in distinct compartments, were designed to sustain the insects for approximately two months.
During their court appearance on Tuesday, the Belgian teenagers expressed distress and claimed they collected the ants as a hobby. They pleaded guilty and are currently awaiting sentencing.