A pangolin has been taken hostage by a group of rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who have sent a ransom letter to conservationists demanding money for the release of the animal.
World wildlife populations declined by 68% since 1970
The rebel group is presumed to be the Nduma Defence of Congo, a militia group that operates in the North East of the DRC and is largely implicated for crimes against humanity in the Kivu conflict. Adams Cassinga, founder of Conserv Congo commented that ‘if we pay them, we are doomed,’ after photos of the animal were sent to community conservationists.
‘They have seen how much money is spent on conservation issues and that rare animals are prized by the international community, and they would say even more so than the poor communities who live in the same area,’ he told the Independent UK.
Wildlife held hostage-Last night we received sad news of this giant pangolin in the hands of some armed group in North Kivu, near @gorillacd & asking for a ransom to release her into the wild. Local activists & community rangers were still negotiating for her release. #Feedom pic.twitter.com/ZWBPuicwzU
— Adams Cassinga (@Amini16) January 24, 2022
The Pangolin was in Virunga national Park, where over 120 militia groups are engaged in disputes over land and mineral resources. Rangers in this park have their work cut out for them in one of Africa’s oldest national parks, where a ranger was shot and killed during an operation last year and a further 12 park rangers killed in 2020.
READ: Orphaned mountain gorilla, Ndakasi, dies in Virunga National Park
A number of people have already been taken hostage in the region in a bid to fund the conflict, with aid workers often targeted. But with foreigners pulling out of the region, militants are looking for new means to raise funds in a region where wildlife tends to be worth more than human lives.
When a call was placed to the rebel group, they answered with ‘pay us and we hand it over for release, if not we will do what we want.’ Cassinga added that ‘they are testing the market,’ where Gorillas and Okapis have also been killed in the past to send a message.
Conservation in unstable regions is going to come under increasing pressure in politically and socially unstable regions, where the lucrative market for trafficked wildlife and the high social value of certain species, means people in poverty are going to take greater risks in order to subsist.
Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked animal, where almost one million pangolins are trafficked annually, and all eight species of pangolins are classed as threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Picture: Getaway Gallery
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