POACHERS DETAINED IN ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FELINE

Two poachers, aged between 30 and 34, were detained today (01) by National Police Agents in the Nambambi neighborhood, Lubango municipality, Huíla Province. The criminal act took place in Iona National Park, Namibe Province, with the intention of selling the animal to Asian nationals for 120,000 kwanzas. Their illicit activities were thwarted by local PNA agents during the transaction.

It is important to highlight that poaching in Angola is prohibited in conservation areas such as nature reserves or national parks, in ecosystems and habitats protected for migratory species, at watering holes, and bird roosting sites. The leopard, being an endangered species, is among the protected animals.

Angola is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which enforces a ban on the killing of endangered species through Executive Decree 469/15 of July 13. This decree aims to eliminate the indiscriminate killing of animals and the trade of species, whether alive or dead.