The Western Cape’s ongoing dedication to fighting wildlife crime is yielding positive results, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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A forty-two-year-old man from Durbanville was sentenced on Friday, 27 September, at the Bellville Regional Court to six years in prison and fined R100 000 after being found guilty on all 16 counts related to the illegal trafficking and possession of 56 protected species, including birds, snakes, and spiders.
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Although the prison sentence was suspended for five years, it comes with the condition that the offender must not be convicted of any violations of national or provincial environmental laws during that period. The charges include offenses concerning the acquisition, disposal, trade, import, export, transport, possession, captivity, or capture of wildlife, as well as obstructing justice.
The man’s arrest last year followed an investigation by the SAPS Kuils River Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit, in collaboration with CapeNature. During the execution of multiple search and seizure warrants, authorities discovered 56 wild animals at the man’s residence, many of which are prohibited from private captivity in the Western Cape.
This case was bolstered by cooperation between CapeNature, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement, and the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment’s Environmental Enforcement Fusion Centre. The accused has been linked to two other known international wildlife traffickers.
Among the seized animals were over 40 highly venomous snakes, including three adult Mangshan Pit Vipers—a Critically Endangered species native to a small mountainous area in southern China. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), fewer than 500 adults of this species remain in the wild. The illegal capture and international trafficking of these snakes pose a severe threat to their survival, as China has never authorized their legal export.
‘We are satisfied with the successful conviction on all 16 charges and the sentence imposed. It should serve as a deterrent for people that involve themselves in wildlife crime in the Western Cape and as an example of the enforcement and prosecution success that can be obtained through provincial, national and international collaboration across environmental law enforcement, criminal justice and private sector role-players,’ said CapeNature CEO, Dr. Ashley Naidoo.
CapeNature is currently collaborating with the DFFE, the Mangshan National Nature Reserve, and the Chinese government to repatriate the three Mangshan Pit Vipers to China, where they may be included in a conservation breeding program aimed at bolstering the species’ dwindling population in its native habitat.
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Picture: Supplied
