A fine of 60 million Sri Lankan Butterfly thieves handed $200,000 fine
Two Italian men were arrested at Yala National Park after rangers found them with hundreds of protected insects
An Italian father and his son have been fined 60 million Sri Lankan rupees ($200,000; £150,000) for trying to smuggle hundreds of endemic insects – including 92 species of butterflies – out of a safari park.
Rangers at Yala National Park arrested Luigi Ferrari, 68, and his 28-year-old son Mattia on 8 May this year after they were found with jars containing the insects.
The men had lured the insects with animal attractants and planned on using wax sachets to chemically preserve them, investigations show.
They were convicted in early September of illegal collection, possession and transportation of the insects, and handed the highest-ever fine for wildlife crime in the country.
has been imposed on an Italian father and his son for their attempts to smuggle out of a safari park hundreds of endemic insects, including 92 species of butterflies.
On May 8, this year, Luigi Ferrari, 68, and his son Mattia, 28, were taken into custody by rangers at Yala National Park after they were discovered carrying jars containing the insects.
According to investigations, the men had used animal attractants to entice the insects, and they intended to chemically preserve them using wax sachets.
Early in September, they were found guilty of unlawfully gathering, possessing, and transporting the insects. As a result, they received the largest fine ever imposed for wildlife crime in the history of the nation.
