“What are you in here for, buddy?”
“Ant smuggling.”
Last year, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) warned of a growing demand for garden ants – scientifically known as Messor cephalotes - in Europe and Asia, where collectors keep them as pets.
…
“Within his personal luggage there was found 1,948 garden ants packed in specialised test tubes,” prosecutor Allen Mulama told the court.
“A further 300 live ants were recovered concealed in three rolls of tissue paper within the luggage,” he added.
Prosecutors requested additional time to investigate what they believe is a well-organised international trafficking network dealing in live ants.
No mention if he had ants in the pants
I wonder if there’s a similar insect export law in the books here in US? Or any otherwise unprotected bugs. Maybe they all belong to Monsanto now?
Importing live animals is different.
This is how ecological disasters begin.
And now we know why we have Fire ants. Gahhhh!
I did a quick Google search and couldn’t find anything for the US. However, there apparently has been one in Australia since 1978.
History of the Australian entomological society - Fletcher - 2016 - Austral Entomology - Wiley Online Library
Regulation 13A of the Customs Act , which prohibited the export of ‘live or dead insects, including ticks and spiders’ from Australia unless the recipient was an institution which had lodged a permanent undertaking to return to Australia holotypes of those groups it receives from any source in the future.
