Ten poachers were sentenced to 16 years in prison each for poaching on the lands of a national park in Mozambique, the judges said.
Mozambique slowly revived its wildlife reserves after the 1975-1992 civil war, which killed one million people and affected wildlife.
Wild animals have begun to return to the parks, but poachers are one of the major problems for these animal repopulation efforts.
The convicted poachers were part of a group of 12 men arrested in June during an anti-poaching operation in Gorongosa National Park, located in the province of Sofala (center).
The provincial court found the ten men guilty on Tuesday. One of the suspects died in prison and the last did not appear at the trial after being released on bail.
The chief judge, Martinho Muchiguere, said the poachers had acted « against the Mozambican government’s efforts to protect the environment ».
In addition to their prison sentence, convicts will have to pay the state 5% of their minimum income over three months.
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