The Forestry Commission has issued a strong warning to some wildlife traffickers who are, or intend to use Ghana as a transit destination to operate their nefarious activities to rescind or face drastic action.
“We would like to send a message to them that they have no place in Ghana. We will smoke them out,” The commission assures.
The warning follows a June 16, 2017 publication carried by the Associated Press that Malaysian custom officials had seized nearly 400 kilograms of Pangolin scales worth $1.2 million Dollars from Ghana.
Pangolin is classified as one of the endangered species banned globally by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered of Fauna and Flaura.
In Ghana, Pangolin is classified as a schedule one species which is completely protected from hunting, capturing or destroying at all times.
However, in spite these warnings, unscrupulous individuals are capturing and exporting the creatures thereby bringing their numbers to critically low.
According to the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, Wildlife crime is becoming serious in Ghana and globally, thus, it is important to for all Ghanaians to help in the conservation the country’s wildlife species.
Addressing the Media in Accra on Friday, the Director of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission,Nana Kofi Adu- Nsiah warned the commission would do all within it means to fish out and prosecute the perpetrators.
He noted, “we are going to intensify our collaboration with the Customs Police, NACOB,Aiport officials, informants and our intelligence network to combat this crime. We will plead with all of you to join us in combating wildlife crime in Ghana.”
He indicated that the Commission in collaboration with the Intelligence Unit of the Narcotics Controls Board had done some investigations which has led to the arrests of Ghanaians who have confessed their involvement in the illegal export of Pangolin scales from Ghana to Malaysia. They confessed that the Scales are labeled Oyster Shells in order to deceive airport officials.
