News Mania Desk/ Piyal Chatterjee / 13th September 2024
A fine of 60 million Sri Lankan rupees ($200,000; £150,000) has been imposed on an Italian man and his son for their attempts to smuggle out of a safari park hundreds of rare insects, including 92 kinds of butterflies.
On May 8, this year, Luigi Ferrari, 68, and his son Mattia, 28, were taken into custody by rangers at Yala National Park after they were discovered carrying jars containing the insects.
According to investigations, the males had used animal attractants to entice the insects, and they intended to chemically preserve them using wax sachets.
Early in September, they were found guilty of unlawfully gathering, possessing, and transporting the insects. As a result, they received the largest fine ever imposed for wildlife crime in the history of the nation.
According to K Sujeewa Nishantha, a park ranger, a safari jeep driver had alerted his group of rangers about a “suspicious car” parked along the road on the day of the event. The driver said the two guys inside had entered the forest using bug nets.
After locating the vehicle, the rangers discovered hundreds of jars filled with the insects inside the trunk.
“When we discovered the insects, they were all dead. “They filled the bottles with a chemical,” Mr. Nishantha stated. “There were more than three hundred animals.”
The 810 counts that were originally levied against the guys were eventually lowered to 304. If they don’t pay the fee, they risk spending two years in prison.
Yala National Park, one of Sri Lanka’s most well-known wildlife parks, is situated in the southeast of the nation and is home to several animals, including buffalo, elephants, and leopards.
According to accounts, Luigi Ferrari, an orthopaedic specialist who specializes in treating injuries to the foot and ankle, was referred to as an insect aficionado by his pals. Additionally, he belongs to an entomology association in the northern Italian city of Modena.
On his behalf, his friends and colleagues in Italy have begged for leniency. According to some, the butterflies he found had no commercial worth, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera said.
