LAHORE: The Punjab Wildlife Department foiled a bid to smuggle 504 rare turtles to Bangkok at Allama Iqbal International Airport and arrested two smugglers.
The Wildlife Department Deputy Director, Naeem Bhatti, said that the turtles which were seized at 1:30 am, are being kept at Lahore Zoo and the Safari Park.
Bhatti said that due to excessive hunting, the animals had become endangered. “They were declared a protected species under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Act 1974 (Amended 2007),” he said.
“These turtles are mostly smuggled to Far East Asian Countries where they are used in medicines or food,” Bhatti said.
“It was fortunate that the turtles were found alive. Such animals are frequently dried and parts of their bodies separated to hide them,” he said.
Javed Awan, the wildlife officer who conducted the raid, said that the smugglers had come from Karachi. “The suspects were just carriers. They were told that they were carrying seafood items. The turtles all belong to the spotted-pond species,” he said.
The WWF communication officer, Syed Muhammad Abubakar, said that the turtles would be released near Head Balloki on Friday.
The species is listed in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which prohibits their trade.
According to a report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), these turtles are largely scavengers. They play an important part in maintaining aquatic ecosystem by cleaning dead organic matter. They also play a significant role in containing the population of fish.
