Kinshasa, 9 July 2019 – Following the conviction of three wildlife traffickers to a term of five months imprisonment, by the court of first instance in Gombe-Kinshasa in Kinshasa paying damages of $ 5,000, after an investigation conducted by the NGO Conserv’ Congo, Greenpeace Africa said :
“Greenpeace Africa welcomes this significant milestone in Congolese justice, which imposes criminal sanctions for an environmental crime. This is a first in the DRC, since the colonial era.
“Trafficking of Bonobos, a well-known trafficked animal, is banned in the DRC and punishable by law. It is estimated that between 29 500 and 50 000 Bonobos still live in the wild. The species is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by, among other things, habitat destruction and commercial poaching.
“Therefore, Greenpeace Africa is encouraging the Congolese justice system to take up other cases of environmental law violations, including those related to industrial logging. This sector, plagued by corruption, is full of companies and some state officials involved in corruption who participate in the destruction of forests in the Congo Basin. “
Media contact:
Afy Malungu, Communications Officer for the Congo Basin Forest Campaign, [email protected], +243 991 521 250