Wildlife law violation: Dealer in lion skin nabbed in Bertoua

He was arrested thanks to efforts by the East Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife, the forces of law and order, the judiciary and LAGA

By Vincent Gudmia Mfonfu

A wildlife trafficker was on Wednesday, 7 July in Bertoua arrested while trying to sell skins derived from a young lion and other protected wildlife species including leopards. Investigation on international trafficking in lion skins is currently going on.

The operation that led to the arrest was carried out by the East Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife, in collaboration with the Forces of law and order, the judiciary and The Last Great Ape Organisation, LAGA.

Renewed efforts are being made to curb illegal trade in lion hides and body parts. Following official declarations on the situation of the lion population, they are on the decline in Waza National Park. «If nothing is done the lion population will disappear in Waza», states Ambassa Linus, a senior official of the Waza National Park.

The driving force behind the race towards the extinction of the lion population in Waza and elsewhere in Cameroon is illegal wildlife trade. In June 2007, an operation mainly supported by Born Free Foundation, uncovered a high profile illegal trade in lion products by a long time worker in a hunting safari company in the North province. He was finally arrested in Garoua. The facilities of some hunting safari companies have been known to be used as channels for the laundering of illegal wildlife products. Laundering of wildlife products is an illegal activity which threatens protected wildlife species including lions.

In order to intensify the fight against illegal trade and strictly enforce the 1994 wildlife law, the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, recently issued a service note calling on the personnel of his ministry to exercise alertness in fighting wildlife crimes. «A call for vigilance is thus made in order to fight these new forms of illegality by wildlife traffickers who hide under the cover of regular MINFOF economic operators to carry out atrocities which damage the image of Cameroon», Ngolle Ngolle explains.

Illegal trade in lion skins like other parts derived from totally protected wildlife species such as ivory from elephants today ranks third after international illicit trade in drugs and arms. For instance, in October 2007, the Maroua Court of First Instance passed judgement on five wildlife dealers caught trading in lion skins. Three of the dealers were given a one-yeareight-month imprisonment term each, while the other two were slammed 10 months each. They were also suspected to be illegally transporting lion skins from Cameroon through Nigeria to the world black market.

The operation in Maroua is part of the national programme on effective wildlife law enforcement in Cameroon carried out by actually bringing offenders to justice.

The programme was launched in 2003 by the government with technical assistance from The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA) and is being implemented by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife in collaboration with the General Delegation for National Security, the Secretariat of Defence and the Ministry of Justice and Keeper of the Seals and LAGA.

Law enforcement as a solution Cameroon Tribune of 26 May 2008 cited Ambassa Linus as saying , «The lion considered king of the forest is no longer secured in Waza». This insecurity is partly brought about by illegal trade in lions and their parts against which the ongoing programme on effective wildlife law enforcement was launched. The law of 1994 governing the wildlife sector in Cameroon is really severe on wildlife traffickers. Sections 101 and 158 of that law states that any person caught with parts of dead or live lion and other endangered wildlife species is liable to a prison term of up to three years and/or pay a fine of up to 10 million FCFA.

The government of Cameroon is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the effective enforcement of the wildlife law. «The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife is now in a renewed alert mode to track down and to sanction all those who do not respect the wildlife law and all those who want to see our wildlife species go extinct cannot succeed», warns Minister Ngolle Ngolle. This warning comes on the heels of a similar one by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). «In many parts of Africa, lions may soon become extinct», cautions IUCN.
Yet the lion, according to Will Travers of Born Free Foundation, «is the symbol of Africa», let alone Cameroon. «The lion is the symbol of Cameroon’s prowess and is almost like a national symbol», posits Ngolle Ngolle.

Race towards extinction

Wildlife conservation experts hold that the West African lions are particularly vulnerable to extinction as a result of illegal trade and so have been reclassified from vulnerable to endangered in the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Frank of the University of California in the United States, cautions: «Only 23000 lions are left compared to an estimated 200 000 in the early 1980s».

Quoting IUCN sources, Marchant J of the New Scientist journal states: «In many parts of Africa, lions may soon become extinct». Studies have shown that there is not a single population of lions in West and Central Africa that is large enough to be viable.

courtesy, The Herald