LAHORE: At least 171 black spotted turtles out of 504 confiscated by the Punjab Wildlife Department at Allama Iqbal International Airport on 20 April were released in Head Balloki on Friday in the presence of mediapersons and other stakeholders.

The World Wide Fund for Nature, in collaboration with the Punjab Wildlife Department, arranged a field visit for print and electronic media people and officials of the WWF and PWD.

Read: Bid to smuggle 504 freshwater turtles foiled

Head Balloki’s PWD Director-General Khalid Ayaz Khan and WWF Director Biodiversity Uzma Khan in a joint press briefing to the media at the Irrigation Rest House said that turtles were being released in their natural habitat with combine efforts of the WWF and Punjab Wildlife Department.

Mr Khan said that remaining 333 turtles would be released in the wildlife sanctuary of Taunsa Barrage.

To a question what efforts the Punjab Wildlife Department was making to vet the law for imprisonment and strict punishments in such cases, Mr Khan said the department was proposing a draft to the Punjab government in this regard.

He said the accused arrested for smuggling these turtles to Bangkok were fined Rs300,000 by the department.

He admitted that the fine was just a fraction as compared to the profit earned through selling of smuggled turtles in the international market.

Also read: Sindh, Punjab hub of illegal turtle trade

About illegal trade of protected wildlife species in different areas of Punjab and at Tollinton and Dharampura markets in Lahore, Mr Khan said a survey was being conducted of such places to launch a crackdown.

Ms Uzma said the illegal trade of protected species was globally being considered an organized crime.

She said a small pond turtle was being sold in the international market for about 250 dollars, which meant the consignment caught at the Lahore Airport could fetch 126,000 dollars.

She said that stringent laws should be made to deter people from committing wildlife crimes.

The black spotted turtle falls in the Appendix 1 species in the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and its trade is illegal across international borders without export and import permits.

PUNJABI NOVEL: A Punjabi novel Nain Sukh: Madhu Lal Hussein -- Lahore Di Waley will be launched at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture here on Saturday (today).

The launch will be presided over by Mushtaq Sufi while speakers will be Parveen Malik, Maqsood Saqib, Iqbal Qaiser, Zubair Jan and Saeed Bhutta. The ceremony is being organised by the Punjabi Adabi Sangat.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2015

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