Historic sentence in Congo: poacher sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing 500 elephants

Historic sentence in Congo: poacher was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing 500 elephants.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Killed 500 elephants and for this terrible havoc it was sentenced to 30 years in prison and the payment of about 60 thousand euros. It happened in Congo to a poacher, Mobanza Mobembo Gerard, called Guyvanho, who killed pachyderms mercilessly to trade ivory. He allegedly tried to kill a wildlife park ranger as well.

The animal rights activists who have been working against poaching for years have enthusiastically welcomed the sentence of the Congo court, calling it historic! It is in fact the first criminal conviction in Congo for trafficking wild animals.

The Wildlife Conservation Society has in fact highlighted that so far, similar crimes had been punished with a maximum of 5 years in prison and tried only by civil, non-criminal courts. And this exemplary punishment sends a different message, which is that they are no longer tolerable, as stated by the foundation's regional organizational director, Emma Strokes:

“This unprecedented conviction in a criminal court represents a milestone in the protection of wildlife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It sends an extremely strong message that crimes against nature will no longer be tolerated in the future and will be prosecuted at the highest levels of justice ”.

Guyvanho began killing elephants in 2008 by conducting expeditions throughout Africa, so much so that he was nicknamed "the butcher of Nouabale Ndoki", a reserve where he worked, much loved by elephants, where the attempted murder would also take place in 2019. His group of poachers apparently shot some Park rangers.

He has now been convicted of poaching, illegal possession of firearms, illegal ivory trafficking, attempted murder.

We hope that this exemplary sentence will help change things by stemming, and one day finally putting an end to crimes against animals.

SOURCES: WCSNewsroom

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