Author: Elliot Doornbos, Senior Lecturer of Criminology, Nottingham Trent University

Four men were recently arrested and fined for attempting to smuggle more than 5,000 ants out of Kenya. Aiming to sell them as part of the exotic pet trade, these ants were being stored in individual test tubes and syringes with small amounts of cotton wool for transportation. This unusual case highlights an important yet overlooked aspect of wildlife trafficking. Wildlife trafficking is a crime against nature which occurs mainly because of consumer demand. Trafficking refers to the illegal smuggling and continued exploitation of wild animals, plants or timber. That includes, as in this case, insects. Much conservation effort, reporting,…