DRC: Belgian justice sentences 3 wildlife traffickers
Boris Ngounou, Afrik 21
January 14, 2022
Belgium will no longer tolerate the import of wildlife products on its
territory. This was the signal given on Wednesday, January 12th, 2022, by a
series of sentences handed down by the Brussels Criminal Court. Three
people whose names were not revealed, received sentences of up to 8 months
in prison and fines of up to 8,000 euros for having imported from the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), crocodile and chimpanzee meat as well
as boa constrictor skin, wild species threatened with extinction.
Among those convicted was a man who had imported three kilos of crocodile
meat. He received the heaviest sentence, eight months in prison and a fine
of 8,000 euros. The other three defendants were sentenced to up to six
months for importing parts such as turtle carcasses from Ethiopia, and boa
constrictor skin from Colombia. The sentences were handed down under the
provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). “This convention is not only aimed at live
animals that are traded, but also at all kinds of by-products, such as
ivory, dried seahorse key rings, crocodile or snake leather handbags (…)
Failure to comply with this legislation constitutes a real threat to
biodiversity and is therefore severely punished,” explains Hal-Vilvoorde
public prosecutor’s spokeswoman Carol Vercarre.
U.S. Also Hinders Trafficking in Congolese Wildlife
According to the U.S. State Department, the DRC is a major center for
trafficking in wildlife and wildlife products from Africa to Asia and the
Middle East. Among the measures employed to curb this illegal trafficking,
the U.S. has decided to stop granting visas to eight DRC nationals accused
of trafficking in protected wildlife and timber. “This visa restriction
policy is intended to further disrupt the movements and activities of
transnational criminal organizations involved in wildlife and timber
trafficking by making it more difficult to smuggle,” said a U.S. State
Department statement, issued on December 14, 2021.
The DRC is home to a variety of iconic species on its soil, such as the
critically endangered eastern gorilla, bonobos, elephants targeted for
their horns, chimpanzees and the okapi. In September 2018, former President
Joseph Kabila burned two stocks of ivory, consisting of elephant horns and
bracelets, from poaching, to demonstrate the authorities’ commitment to
preserving the DRC’s vast natural resources.
https://www.afrik21.africa/en/drc-belgian-justice-sentences-3-wildlife-traffickers/