Over 400 Indian star tortoises, on transit to Mumbai, seized

The species has been declared threatened due to its depleting population

In a major haul, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized 426 Indian star tortoises, a threatened species, hidden in two luggage bags.

The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans), marked as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has recently got the highest level of protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

The 426 tortoises were illegally sourced from hill ranges near the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka border and were being transported to Mumbai for crossborder trade.

DRI officials intercepted a bus on October 11 at Sangareddy in Telangana and recovered the tortoises after a search. They were hidden inside two bags found abandoned in the luggage compartment.

Bengaluru zonal additional director, DRI, said the search was still on for the gang members involved in the smuggling. "As of now, we cannot divulge much as the investigation is on to nab the smugglers," he said.

The tortoises were handed over to the Andhra Pradesh forest officials for rehabilitation in natural habitat. "They are being maintained in the Sri Venkateswara Zoo near Tirupati, before their rehabilitation and further release into their natural habitat," an official release from DRI said.

The Indian star tortoise, found across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, eastern Karnataka, and Odisha, has become a threatened animal as years of illegal trade has led to severe depletion in their population.

Global pet market

Most of the star tortoise trade occurs as part of the international pet market. It is sold as an exotic pet in North American and Southeast Asian countries. However, the mindless exploitation of the species has caused a severe drop in their population in India.

The number of animals seized has come down from 3,959 to 1,950 last year as officials have been invoking stringent provisions of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act to put an end to the smuggling.

Officials said poachers could not move their stocks in the last three to four months due to the raging pandemic, which has disrupted interstate movement.

Stocks could, therefore, be piling up with poachers at various places. With several stages of the Covid unlock coming into effect, smuggling of animals may increase.