In a case that presumably shocked myrmecologists and the hobby ant husbandry community, two Belgian nationals were sentenced to a fine of over seven thousand five hundred US dollar or a year in prison each, for the attempted smuggling of around five thousand ant queens from Nakuru, Kenya. The pair were charged in terms of section 95(c) of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, which makes dealing in live wildlife species without a permit or exemption an offence. The queens in question were Messor cephalotes, a species of giant harvester ant highly valued among hobbyists for their large size and red-and-black colouration. The queens, once sold, would each have been used to start a new colony in a specialised ant farm (formally a formicarium), and were stated to be worth around one hundred and ninety five US dollar each, for a total haul of nearly one hundred thousand US dollar. The astronomical value of the operation highlights the issue of biopiracy of smaller organisms from developing nations, and the need for effective bioprospecting legislation and enforcement.
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