- These two cheetah cubs, kept in appalling conditions, were
confiscated by conservation authorities in Somaliland at the same time
as the independent territory celebrated its first formal court
conviction of wildlife criminals operating out of north-east Africa.
Somaliland
is the blade of the Somalia hatchet on the Gulf of Aden. It functions
as an independent state following a unilateral declaration of
independence in 1991. It is widely suspected as the main trade route for
smugglers through the Port of Berbera for wildlife and game products
originating from Ethiopia and Kenya. Conservation authorities have
recorded 47 confirmed instances of cheetahs being smuggled through
Somaliland for rich Arabs from 2011 to 2017. However, it is estimated
that as many as 300 cheetahs are taken through Somaliland every year.
The
suspected criminals were arrested when the Somaliland authorities,
assisted by a local team managed by the Namibia-based Cheetah
Conservation Fund (CCF), confiscated six cheetah cubs of different ages
on 05 August in El Sheikh near Berbera. The cubs, now under proper care
of the CCF team, ranged between 3 and 7 months in age and displayed
various degrees of malnutrition and dehydration.
The Cheetah
Conservation Fund has been working to counter the north-east Africa
cheetah trade since 2005 and in 2011 began building a local network and
establishing working relationship with government authorities.
“Cheetah
trafficking in East Africa is of great concern, as cheetah populations
in the affected areas of Ethiopia, Somalia and northern Kenya are scarce
and already facing numerous threats such as loss of habitat and
conflict with humans. We commend and applaud the Somaliland courts, it
is not often that confiscations end with a conviction,” said Dr Laurie
Marker, the founder and Chief Executive of the Otjiwarongo-based CCF.
Earlier
this month, just a few days before the trial, the Somaliland’s Forestry
and Wildlife Conservation Law was ratified by the Cabinet. The Hon
Shukri Ismail, Minister of Environment and Rural Development, stated
that she “welcomed the decision by the cabinet to ratify legal
international polices that govern dealing with the Conservation of Fauna
and Flora in Somaliland.”
To date, the Somaliland government has
ratified five international and regional conservation agreements
including the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources.
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