Conservation charity vets head to Thailand following the largest ever seizure of ploughshare tortoises - the most threatened tortoise in the world.
June 2013. This week Tsanta Fiderana, Malagasy veterinary officer for Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust will travel to Bangkok on behalf of the Madagascar CITES management body as part of a joint mission with Dr. Paul Gibbons and Maurice Rodrigues of the Turtle Conservancy to assess the health of ploughshare tortoises recently trafficked out of Madagascar in a suitcase. In addition to tending to the health of the confiscated tortoises, the team will also be creating new enclosures that can be used for future confiscations of turtles and tortoises.
World's most threatened tortoise
The ploughshare is the most threatened tortoise in the world and is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), forbidding any trade in the species. However the tortoise is highly prized as a pet, especially in South East Asia, and illegal trade is now the biggest threat to the species' survival.
Largest ever seizure
Fifty-four ploughshare tortoises and 21 radiated tortoises were found by Thai police in a suitcase at Bangkok International Airport on 15th March 2013. This is the largest ever seizure of ploughshare tortoises made up of 53 juveniles and one sub-adult tortoise. A Thai man and a Malagasy woman were arrested.
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