A plant poacher is convicted in Cape Town, and the 104 plants he took are back in the nature reserve

A man who poached 104 indigenous plants from a nature reserve in Cape Town has been convicted, and the plants are back in the ground, the City of Cape Town said on 23 October. The Kuils River Magistrate's Court convicted Ashley Dirkse on 21 October.

Bulbs and tubers taken from Bracken Nature Reserve

On 20 May 2024, Dirkse took 104 plants from the City's Bracken Nature Reserve in Brackenfell. They were Drimia elata, a bulbous plant known locally as jeukbol, and Pelargonium triste, a tuberous plant known as kaneeltjie. The poached plants and bulbs were returned and replanted in the reserve.

The City is “very grateful that the poached plants and bulbs were returned and replanted in the Bracken Nature Reserve.” — Alderman Eddie Andrews, Deputy Mayor of Cape Town

A suspended sentence and a ban

Dirkse was sentenced to a R80,000 fine or two years' imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of another plant-related offense. He is also barred for three years from getting any permit to enter protected areas or nature reserves in the Western Cape, or to pick plants in the province.

The case was the result of joint work by the City, the provincial conservation authority CapeNature, Brackenfell police, the police's Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit in Kuils River and the National Prosecuting Authority. CapeNature said it will keep working with enforcement partners to investigate biodiversity crime.

How to report poaching

Andrews reminded the public that removing plants, animals, rocks or shells from reserves and protected areas is a crime. Suspected plant poaching can be reported to the police or to CapeNature. Elsewhere, governments have just agreed to negotiate a UN treaty against environmental crime, including trafficking in wild plants.