Two men recently received a seven-year prison sentence each after they were found guilty on charges of trying to sell an injured pangolin.
Regional Court Magistrate Keith Page called it a very serious crime, taking into account the declining numbers of pangolins worldwide, adding that statistics show that within the next two decades there will be no pangolins left.
Accused number one is a 40-year-old father of three from Zimbabwe and this was his first offence. Accused two, however, is a 25-year-old single man with previous convictions for theft and possession of an illegal substance. At the time of their arrest both men were unemployed and doing odd jobs for money. During the men’s sentencing, Page explained that pangolins are on the endangered species list and that trading their meat or scales is prohibited across the world.
Professor Raymond Jansen, the chairperson of the African Pangolin Working Group testified that the Asian pangolins are on the verge of extinction, and criminals now target the African pangolins.
The current market value of a pangolin ranges between R500 000 and R1 million, and they are currently recognised as the most illegally traded and trafficked animal on earth. One million pangolins are said to have been poached in the last 10 years.
The men were caught trying to sell the injured pangolin, but fortunately it could receive treatment and be returned to its natural habitat. Rehabilitating an injured pangolin can cost anything between R50 000 to R60 000, and tracking them for a period after being released can add to the costs. Paige said is was clear the men wanted to gain financially by selling the injured animal after capturing it.
The men denied committing the offence up until they were of sentenced, and according to Page they showed no remorse, leaving their prognoses for rehabilitation poor.
The only appropriate sentence would be imprisonment, and a severe one,” Page added.
Apart from the seven-year sentence the men received on Tuesday, 20 April, both men were declared unfit to possess a firearm.
