Cameroon Chimp Trafficker Behind Bars

by Maria A. Schulz

A 40-year-old man has become the first Cameroonian to face prison time for trying to sell a female baby chimpanzee, in violation of a law on the books in Cameroon that prohibits trade in endangered animals.

Tonye Nkeng was sentenced to one month behind bars and was ordered to pay a fine of $1,000.

Nkeng was arrested five months ago when he tried to sell the female baby chimpanzee named Kita to a dealer.

Kita is now in a safe haven at the Limbe wildlife centre in south-western Cameroon.

"This is what I wanted and this is what I got. I am very happy," Francois Ntolo Tsinya, the lawyer for the Ministry of the Environment and Forests, said after the sentencing.

Ms. Tsinya said she had not been sure she would get a conviction, let alone a prison term, because poaching of wildlife is a very common crime in Cameroon due to the flourishing bush meat trade.

The sprawling bush-meat markets that operated in Yaounde were closed after police started arresting dealers. Even so, illegal trade in endangered animals continues to thrive throughout the country.

Cameroon is home to hundreds of endangered animals, including chimpanzees, gorillas, lions and elephants. The huge international demand for bush meat and animal skin is causing them to be killed at an alarming rate.

"This [sentencing] will send a strong signal to people that they cannot just eat any type of animal, anytime," Ms. Tsinya said.

Nkeng was charged based on information provided by an animal rights organization known as The Last Great Ape (LAGA). LAGA uses a web of informers and equipment to track down wildlife poachers and bring them to justice.

LAGA’s Israeli-born director, Ofir Drori, said he was "elated" by the verdict.

A 1994 law prevents people from trading in endangered animals, but it has taken nine years for the first person to be sentenced under it.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.