In April 2025, Kenya Wildlife Service officers uncovered an unusual wildlife trafficking operation when they arrested two Belgian teenagers attempting to smuggle over 5,000 ants from Kenya to exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia. The 19-year-olds had stored the ants – including the prized Messor cephalotes, a large red harvester ant native to East Africa – in test tubes and syringes with cotton wool (environments that would keep the insects alive for weeks during transport). This case represents what authorities describe as "a shift in trafficking trends – from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species." The incident sheds light on the booming global ant-keeping hobby, where specimens like Messor cephalotes can sell for £99 GBP per colony in specialised online marketplaces. Scientists warn that this emerging trade poses significant biodiversity risks, as these ants play crucial ecological roles, harvester ants collect and disperse grass seeds throughout the African savannah and serve as food for species like aardvarks and pangolins.