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Friday, January 21, 2005 - Web posted at 7:54:59 GMT Man fined for giving pangolin 'a lift' MAGGI BARNARDA LONG-HAUL taxi driver, who thought he was rescuing an injured animal, was found guilty on two charges related to protected game in the Swakopmund Magistrate's Court this week. |
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Eduard Gernoldt Bamm (26) was fined N$150 on each count by Magistrate Gibson Imbili for picking up a pangolin and taking it to Swakopmund in September 2003. The second accused, Ferdinand van Wyk (28), co-driver and passenger, was found not guilty and acquitted on both counts. They were both charged with the capture, transport or keeping of game for commercial purposes, and for the possession of protected game. The two men testified that they were driving from Windhoek to Swakopmund with passengers when they noticed a pangolin in the road. Upon closer inspection they found it was injured and decided to take it to Swakopmund. They went to the Namib Times office and asked an employee what they should do with it. They were advised to take it to the Living Desert Snake Park. According to them, the snake park did not want the animal. The snake park attendant testified that they had asked him about the commercial value of the animal. He informed the Protected Resources Unit (PRU) of the Police, and they were arrested. Bamm's legal counsel, Werner van Rensburg, told the court that his client was not aware of the illegality of picking up and transporting protected game. "Nowhere in Namibia, not at Police stations, court houses or lawyer's firms, are there lists with photos of protected animals. The general public do not know about this law," he said. In defence of his client, Van Rensburg said it was evident that he was a reasonable person who did not want to leave an injured animal in the middle of the road. He said the State had depended solely on a single witness, which did not prove his client's intent. In pronouncing Bamm guilty on both charges, Magistrate Imbili relied on the testimony of the snake park attendant, and the fact that as the driver he was responsible for what was transported in the vehicle. The skins of pangolins, or scaly anteaters, have commercial value. Traditional healers apparently use the scales in medicines. The injured pangolin was handed to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to be taken care of until its broken leg had healed. |
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