#wildlife-trafficking — Public Fediverse posts

East Bay Times: Report: Facebook is main tool for criminals selling endangered wild animals. “The company, owned by Meta, which made $60 billion in profit last year according to regulatory filings, did not directly dispute claims in the report that it hosted some 16,000 advertisements for illegally trafficked wildlife — about three-quarters of the total ads researchers identified — or that […]

Kenya’s newest wildlife scandal involves ants, airport security, and a very ambitious suitcase

Dear Cherubs, Nairobi has somehow joined the list of places where even ants are apparently worth smuggling. According to Reuters, Chinese national Zhang Kequn, 27, was arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in March 2026 after investigators said they found 2,238 live garden ants in his luggage, including 1,948 packed in test tubes and the rest hidden in tissue-paper rolls.

THE BIG SWITCH

This was not a random insect mishap. Reuters reported that Zhang had been in Kenya for two weeks, that officials linked him to three alleged accomplices, and that immigration had already flagged a stop order on his passport after he evaded arrest in Kenya the year before. Investigators were also checking his phone and laptop, which suggests this was less “oops” and more “organized inconvenience with legs.”

The species at the center of the case was Messor cephalotes, the giant African harvester ant, which Reuters said is sought after by ant enthusiasts who keep colonies in formicariums, those transparent habitats where people watch ant society do its highly efficient thing. Reuters also reported that export of the species from Kenya requires a Kenya Wildlife Service licence and a health certificate. So no, this was not a souvenir for the minibar.

WHY THE SMALL STUFF MATTERS

The bigger story is the shift in wildlife trafficking from iconic animals to smaller species that still matter ecologically. Reuters reported that Kenya’s wildlife service described an earlier 2025 ant case as a milestone in the fight against biopiracy because it involved the attempted export of Kenya’s genetic resources without prior informed consent or benefit-sharing. ENACT Africa says smuggling live ants can violate Kenya’s Wildlife Conservation and Management Act and fits the definition of biopiracy. Tiny package, big legal problem.

The 2025 case makes the whole thing even stranger. Reuters reported that about 5,000 queen ants were concealed in modified test tubes and syringes designed to keep them alive for up to two months and slip past airport security. The same report said the haul had a street value of about 1 million Kenyan shillings, which is a lot of money for something most people would not notice unless it crawled into their shoe.

What Kenya is dealing with here is not just a quirky airport bust. It is a reminder that the black market keeps adapting, and that conservation can’t stop at the big, photogenic species. Ants may be small, but they help sustain ecosystems, and the demand for rare ones has turned them into a cross-border commodity. Nature, as ever, is doing the most while humans turn it into a side hustle.

Sources list:
Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenya-arrests-man-trying-smuggle-over-2000-live-ants-his-luggage-2026-03-12/
Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenyan-court-charges-two-men-including-chinese-citizen-with-smuggling-live-ants-2026-03-17/
Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenyan-agents-bust-plot-smuggle-giant-ants-sale-foreign-insect-lovers-2025-04-15/
ENACT Africa — https:

//enactafrica.org/enact-observer/ant-smuggling-and-biopiracy-threaten-kenya-s-ecology
Wikimedia Commons image source — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_an_ant,_full_face_view.jpg
thisclaimer.com — https://thisclaimer.com
Thisclaimer YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@thisclaimer?sub_confirmation=1

One ant for $220: The new frontier of wildlife trafficking

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4g44zv37qo

#HackerNews #wildlifetrafficking #wildlifeconservation #animalrights #biodiversity #environmentalissues

Environmental crime or wildlife crime are crimes which are destructive or extractive to nature
"Crime and punishment in the outback: A review of extractive and destructive green crime cases in Australia's criminal justice system."

" Illegal activities harming the environment and aimed at benefiting individuals or groups or companies from the exploitation of, damage to, trade or theft of natural resources, including, but not limited to serious crimes and transnational organized crime"

"In 2018 a farmhand in rural Victoria, Australia, was found guilty of the illegal killing of over 400 wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax), a large and long-lived bird of prey which is protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic) "
>>
Onley, I. R., Alber, J., Smith, K. A. F., Toole, K., Chadwick, D. L., Williams, C., & Cassey, P. (2026). Crime and punishment in the outback: A review of extractive and destructive green crime cases in Australia's criminal justice system. Conservation Science and Practice, e70232. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.70232

#Biodiversity #extractivism #CITES #monetisation #TakeCulture #WildlifeTrafficking #LandClearing #Fishing #WildlifeTrade #reptiles #WaterTheft #CriminalJusticeSystem #WEC #harm #exploitation #CompanionSpecies #GreenCrimes

Crime against wildlife is surging in Australia
Flogging off native animals and plants

" Around the world, wildlife and environmental crime is surging. It is estimated to be the fourth largest organised transnational crime sector, and to be growing at a rate two to three times faster than the global economy."

"This is a considerable problem, because Australia has unique and endemic wildlife species, high extinction rates, and is a country that is difficult to police due to its sheer size and vast remote areas. Our new, Australia-first study addresses this knowledge gap."

"We don’t understand the full extent and impact of these crimes in Australia, but we do know they can be disastrous. Wildlife trafficking and illegal trade erodes biodiversity through the removal of native species from their habitats. It also fuels the spread of invasive species, parasites and diseases."

"Over half of the environmental crimes (61.3%) occurred in outer regional and remote areas of Australia. "
>>
https://theconversation.com/crime-against-wildlife-is-surging-in-australia-these-4-reforms-can-help-tackle-it-273006
#Biodiversity #extractivism #CITES #monetisation #TakeCulture #WildlifeTrafficking #crime #loggingImpacts #deforestation #LandClearing #ecosystems #destruction #Trade #pets #consumption #NativeSpecies #flora #reptiles #birds #extinction #WEC #fishing #harm #exploitation

Poachers and other criminals love iNaturalist!
#inaturalist #naturalhistory #biology #citizenscience #opendata #poachers #poaching #crime #endangeredspecies #plantpoaching #animalpoaching #wildlifepoaching #wildlifetrafficking #ecology

Flood the black markets with lab grown animal products to prevent wildlife poaching.
#animals #endangeredspecies #wildlife #wildlifetrade #poaching #blackmarkets #labgrownmeat #animaltrafficking #wildlifetrafficking #ivory

Bangkok Post – Thailand sending four orangutans home to Indonesia

PUBLISHED : 18 Jul 2025 at 18:13   Small   Medium   Large (Photo: Department of National Parks,…
#NewsBeep #News #Wildlife #AU #Australia #Indonesia #orangutans #Science #wildlifetrafficking
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/3216/

Smugglers busted trying to take thousands of queen ants out of Kenya, destined for the exotic pet trade. #ants #WildlifeTrafficking https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/16/africa/ants-smuggling-kenya-teens-arrested-intl/index.html

Since its inception, Operation Thunder has led to significant arrests and the identification of criminal networks.

However, it's just a small dent in a $20 billion illegal wildlife market.

These operations are vital for fighting organized crime linked to wildlife trafficking.

#WildlifeTrafficking #OrganizedCrime

A critically endangered harlequin poison-dart frog is among 14 species bred for sale at a laboratory near Bogota as part of several plans worldwide to combat the illegal trade in wildlife by supplying specimens that are legally bred in captivity. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2024/10/17/wildlife/lab-grown-frogs-colombia-trafficking/ #environment #wildlife #frogs #poaching #environment #colombia #wildlifetrafficking #endangeredspecies

The world is full of intelligent, beautiful and rare parrots, but they're falling victim to wildlife trafficking. Thankfully, researchers have figured out how to use DNA databases to protect our feathered friends.

So, how does the use of genomic forensics help protect parrots? And what is a DNA database?

To recognise World Parrot Day, we asked Dr George Olah of The Australian National University for the facts; here is 60 Seconds of Science.⁠https://youtu.be/jPuoFvld6_U

Learn more about Dr George Olah's work with parrots… https://ausgeo.co/csiparrots

#ausgeo #australia #seeaustralia #bird #parrots #parrot #birds #wildlife #nature #wildlifetrafficking #birdlife #birder #birders #research #science #conservation #wildlifeconservation #birdconservation #animalrescue #worldparrotday
#environment #globalwarming #academia #research #academicchatter #biodiversity #ecology #rewilding #biology #government #nature #wildlife #science #scientist #technology #technews #tech

UN Report Highlights the Prevalence of Wildlife Trafficking #AnimalRights #wildlife #WildlifeTrafficking https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animals/un-report-highlights-the-prevalence-of-wildlife-trafficking/

The police told me that they confiscated 20 wood turtles. Between the parakeets, and large wood turtles, there are hundreds of years of life, stashed away into small cages and now these animals an uncertain future. One thing that stands out in this photo is the woman's t-shirt with a cartoon toucan. #WildlifeTrafficking #WildlifeCrime #Wildlife Photo courtesy of Policia Nacional de Medio Ambiente, El Salvador

ANCHE IN EUROPA IL COMMERCIO ILLEGALE DI MEDICINALI TRADIZIONALI CINESI
#wildlifetrafficking
Recente attività della #NVWA olandese (Autorità per la sicurezza alimentare e dei prodotti di consumo) ha fatto emergere come i criminali abbiano sfruttato quel Paese per condurre un commercio illegale su larga scala di medicinali tradizionali cinesi (#MTC) contenenti animali e piante a rischio di estinzione.
Scopri tutto nel nostro blog => https://noblogo.org/cooperazione-internazionale-di-polizia/

These babies were stolen from their nests and transported by traffickers along with illicit drug transfer. Each parrot lost is a tropical forest with diminished capacity to regenerate. #wildlifetrafficking #parrots #conservation

Wildlife trafficking not only robs an ecosystem of essential wildlife, it condemns a living, intelligent being to a life of uncertainty and fear. #wildlifetrafficking #Amazonparrots

#RedPanda Among 87 Animals Found in Smugglers’ Luggage in Thailand

👉 https://www.dw.com/en/thailand-red-panda-found-in-luggage-of-suspected-smugglers/a-68456091

Thanks for the hint @beecycling

https://redpandazine.com/2024/03/06/red-panda-among-87-animals-found-in-smugglers-luggage-in-thailand/

#Airport #nopandapets #redpanda #Thailand #WildlifeTrafficking

A study of the biological invasion risk posed by the growing and largely unregulated pet ant trade in China. People are actively shipping dangerous pest species around the country as pets!

#Ecology #Ants #WildlifeTrafficking

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320723001398

More Central American squirrel monkeys observed in Nicaragua today. What is going on with this southern Costa Rica species? Scientists in Costa Rica say that it's wildlife trafficking but this is the second group of them observed in the wild in Nicaragua this year and at locations many km apart. Any info on the trade of this species would be greatly appreciated. I've never seen them in captivity and doubt they would be easy to keep. #wildlifetrafficking #primates #CostaRica #CITES #WildlifeTrade

How Wildlife Trafficking Threatens Mexico’s Biodiversity #AnimalRights #wildlife #WildlifeTrade #WildlifeTrafficking #biodiversity #Mexico https://biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/Mexico-wildlife-trafficking/

RT Florika Fink-Hooijer🇪🇺
Looking forward to next days of dialogue with 🇮🇩, 🇲🇾 , 🇻🇳 public, private and civil society stakeholders to strengthen our cooperation on #Biodiversity, #Water, #Deforestation, #CircularEconomy, #Plastics & #WildlifeTrafficking https://t.co/cRgW9IwWpF

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/florikafink/status/1672262033398431749