Rare turtle trafficking rampant in Southeast Asia - via Herp Digest

March 31, 2014, Malaymailonline

NEW DELHI, March 31 — Global wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC said two cities in India are being increasingly used to smuggle rare tortoises and freshwater turtles to Hong Kong via Bangkok, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

The recent arrest of suspected smugglers at an airport in Thai capital Bangkok showed these endangered species originated from Varanasi in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and Gaya in the eastern Bihar state.

“This previously unknown trade route used to smuggle turtles from Gaya and Varanasi to Bangkok is often used by religious tourists,” said Shekhar Kumar Niraj, head of TRAFFIC in India.

A statement from TRAFFIC said the involvement of Thailand, India and Hong Kong in illegal trade of rare tortoises and freshwater turtles was highlighted earlier this year when over 1,000 animals were confiscated from smugglers in three separate seizures.

In all three cases, the animals were smuggled via Bangkok with at least two incidents involving tortoises and freshwater turtles that originated from India. On March 12, customs officers at Bangkok Airport seized 218 black spotted turtles (Geoclemys hamiltonii) and 54 Indian narrow-headed softshell turtles (Chitra indica) in a luggage.

Niraj said cooperation between India and other member nations of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) is vital to combat rising organised illegal wildlife trade in the region.

Chris R. Shepherd, TRAFFIC regional director in Southeast Asia, said arresting perpetrators was not the answer to putting a stop to the practice that is driving the population of rare tortoises and freshwater turtles to the brink.

“Seeking out and stopping the big guns that control this trade should be the real focus of enforcement action,” he said.  

Zimbabwe Tortoises Eaten By Chinese Tourists via Herp Digest

02/16/2012 7:50 am- HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Four Chinese nationals have been arrested on cruelty charges after they cut up and ate rare tortoises, an animal protection group said Thursday.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the men admitted to killing 40 of the Bell's hinged species, which are listed as endangered. Investigators found 40 skeletons, 13 live tortoises and tortoise meat when they raided a house in rural southern Zimbabwe, the group said.

These are the first arrests in Zimbabwe of Chinese citizens on charges related to their eating habits. After the arrests, villagers told police and wildlife rangers they sold the tortoises to the Chinese household. Villagers testified the reptiles were dropped into boiling water to dislodge their shells before being butchered, the group said.

Investigators said Zhang Hong Yuan, Chen Caijan, Lin Guibin and Shi Jiahua stored the tortoises in their own droppings and without food or water in 50 gallon (200 liter) drums.

The four, fined separately on charges of "extreme cruelty" under the nation's animal welfare laws, were found to have illegally entered Zimbabwe and were now in jail awaiting deportation, the group said. The men worked without permits in the small scale mining district of Bikita, about 190 miles (300 kilometers) south of Harare.

In a recent influx from Asia, Chinese companies have won construction and mining contracts across Zimbabwe where neighborhood groups have also reported them offering to buy snakes, bullfrogs and dogs, part of their customary diet, from impoverished locals.

Authorities have frequently urged Chinese citizens to observe norms of behavior accepted in Zimbabwe and have warned communities near Chinese work camps not to provide unconventional food supplies.