Jerome Ignatius Joseph from Rietfontein was sentenced in the Upington Regional Court to a fine of R70 000 or five years’ imprisonment for illegally being in possession of a pangolin skin.
Mojalefa Senokoatsane, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecution Authority (NPA), said Joseph was also sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on certain conditions, for the illegal transportation of the skin.
Pangolins are listed as a threatened species in terms of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act and the population is declining due to continued poaching.
Prof. Raymond Jansen, a world-renowned specialist in pangolins, was quoted by state prosecutor Alex Tyers, who said pangolins were the most illegally traded mammal on earth, who have no natural predators except man.
The Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs welcomed the sentence.
