Italian father and son fined $200,000 for smuggling endemic insects from Sri Lanka

An Italian father and son have been fined 60 million Sri Lankan rupees ($200,000; £150,000) for attempting to smuggle hundreds of native insects, including 92 butterfly species, out of a safari park in Sri Lanka.

Rangers at Yala National Park arrested Luigi Ferrari, 68, and his 28-year-old son Mattia on May 8 after finding jars of insects in their possession.

The men had used animal attractants to lure the insects and planned to chemically preserve them using wax sachets.

In early September, they were convicted of illegally collecting, possessing, and transporting the insects, receiving the highest fine ever imposed for wildlife crime in Sri Lanka.

Park ranger K. Sujeewa Nishantha told BBC Sinhala that a safari jeep driver alerted them to a “suspicious car” parked along the road, with two men inside who had ventured into the forest with insect nets.

The rangers found hundreds of jars containing dead insects in the car’s trunk.

The men initially faced 810 charges, later reduced to 304. They could face two years in jail if they fail to pay the fine by September 24.

Italian news reports say the men were on vacation in Sri Lanka and have been held in the country since the incident.

Yala National Park, located in southeast Sri Lanka, is a popular wildlife park known for its leopards, elephants, and buffalos.

Luigi Ferrari, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle injuries, is described as an insect enthusiast and a member of an entomology association in Modena, Italy.

His friends and colleagues in Italy have pleaded for leniency, arguing that the butterflies found had no commercial value, according to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Dr. Jagath Gunawardena, an environmental law expert, told BBC Sinhala that the $200,000 fine serves as a warning to criminals and sets a good precedent.

Wildlife theft is not uncommon in Sri Lanka; on August 28, two Russians were arrested for collecting animals near the Knuckles Forest Reserve, a biodiversity hotspot in central Sri Lanka.

(Courtesy: BBC)