Man charged and fined $1,000 for molesting wild jaguar cub

By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): The case of the wild jaguar cub handled in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve has reached its legal conclusion. The Belize Forest Department has announced that Ruben Stoll was charged under the Wildlife Protection Act in connection with the incident, and has paid a fine of BZ$1,000, approximately US$500.

According to the department’s official statement issued from Belmopan on July 29, 2026, Stoll was charged under the Wildlife Protection Act, Chapter 220 of the Laws of Belize, in connection with the incident involving the handling and molestation of a wild jaguar cub within the reserve.

Following the incident, the department stated, Stoll voluntarily returned to Belize and surrendered himself to the authorities, indicating he had been outside the country. He was subsequently charged and paid the fine.

The department paired the announcement with an unambiguous message to the public. Wildlife, it stressed, is not to be treated as pets, photo props, or tourist attractions, and approaching, touching, handling, or otherwise disturbing wild animals can place both people and wildlife at serious risk.

The legal foundation is broad by design. The jaguar is one of Belize’s protected species, and the Wildlife Protection Act defines “to hunt” as “to kill, take, or molest by any method and includes attempting to kill, take, or molest by any method any species of wildlife,” prohibiting the hunting of protected wildlife, obviously immature wildlife, and any female accompanied by its young. A cub, in other words, is covered several times over.

“No one is above the laws of Belize,” the department declared, reminding Belizeans and visitors alike that while the country welcomes the world to enjoy its extraordinary biodiversity, everyone bears responsibility to respect its wildlife, protected areas, and laws.

The resolution will nonetheless leave some Belizeans weighing the arithmetic: a thousand dollars for the molestation of a protected jaguar cub, the national animal’s most vulnerable form, is a figure the public conversation may judge against the offence. The penalty applied is the penalty the law provides, and any change to it belongs to lawmakers.

The department’s closing guidance is the piece worth carrying forward, for every trail, reserve, and encounter: observe wildlife from a safe distance. Admire it. Photograph it. But never touch it, harass it, or interfere with it.

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