The Kenya Court paid a fine of $ 7,700 (5,800 pounds), who had been sentenced to four men in prison or smuggled thousands of living queens in Korea for a year.
Four suspects -two Belgians, Vietnamese and Kenyan were arrested with living ants suspected of being for collectors in Europe and Asian last month.
They convicted the court that Belgium had collected popular ants in court as a hobby and did not think it was illegal.
However, the judge, who made a ruling on Wednesday, said the ants of the collected species were valuable and not thousands.
Njeri Thuku said, “To collect some ants can be considered a hobby, but it is beyond hobby to be found as 5,000 queen ants.
“The world has already lost a lot of species partially due to greed. Now it’s time to stop this bird.”
She added: “This court will do what can be done to protect all living things big and small.”
The smuggling contains ants of the Giant African harvest, and the British dealer evaluates up to £ 170 ($ 220), respectively.
Vietnam National Duh Hung Nguyen and Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’A, 19 -year -old Belgian Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx received similar terms after the judge considering the claim.
Belgium people were found in 5,000 ants and the other two found more than 300 ants in the apartment.
The ant is packaged in more than 2,000 test tubes filled with wool, helping to survive for several months, authorities said.
The Belgian teenagers entered Kenya as a tourist visa and stayed in Naimbasha, a popular city for animal parks and lakes.
The 23 -year -old Nguyen was described by the court when he had just sent a person who sent an ant by the court and a person who sent a ticket.
The court said that 26 -year -old NG’Ang’a acted as “broker” because of the knowledge of ants found in rural families.
Thuku said he was involved in the description of “illegal wild biological trade and probably biological secrets,” when he sentenced Nguyen and Ng’ang’A. “
David, an ant -lover with 10 colonies in a house in Belgium, belonged to a Facebook group called “Ant Gang”.
Belgium, who first visited Kenya five years ago, said he bought more than $ 200 for $ 200 when he was arrested and arrested.
David told the court that he did not know that his actions did not know their actions.
Lodewijckx suggested that he would buy ants for his insect profits from his point of view, but his intentions did not traffic.
The court ordered three foreigners to be repatriated to the country of origin if they paid a fine or completion of the sentence.
Men must appeal to the ruling for 14 days.
In the statement, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) welcomed the ruling as “evidence of the independence of Kenya’s wildlife trafficking.”
He also pointed out that the removal of the ecosystem could interfere with soil health and biodiversity, emphasizing the importance of ecological importance of anti harvesting ants.
The agency said, “Kenya sent a clear message that he would constantly pursue and prosecute people involved in illegal wildlife trade, regardless of the relevant species.
“Human traffickers often underestimate the ecological value of small species, but they cannot replace their roles in the ecosystem.”
More KWS has previously described this as “landmark case,” and warned that the demand for rare insect species is increasing.
In Kenya, ants are protected by international biodiversity treaties, and their trade is increasing.
