200 smuggled turtles brought home from China

Published August 23, 2014
Eight different species of freshwater turtles are found in Pakistan; five of them are globally threatened species. — Photo by AFP
Eight different species of freshwater turtles are found in Pakistan; five of them are globally threatened species. — Photo by AFP

KARACHI: Two hundred black pond turtles that were smuggled out from Sindh to China were brought to the Indus Dolphin Centre in Sukkur on Friday.

The Chinese authorities handed over the turtles to a Pakistani delegation comprising Sindh wildlife department and World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) officials at a ceremony held at the Pakistan-China border at the Khunjerab Pass.

“The rescued hard-shell turtles will be released into their natural habitat soon once they are rehabilitated at the Dolphin Centre that has been declared their quarantine,” said Sindh Wildlife conservator Javed Maher.

The Chinese officials, he said, had arrested two Pakistani and five Chinese poachers who, he said, would likely get life imprisonment. Earlier, such criminals were awarded the death penalty.

Uzma Noureen, a WWF-P official who was part of the delegation and is also a member of the IUCN Tortoises and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, said: “A number of species including turtles are illegally poached and smuggled out from Pakistan to other countries, especially China and east Asian countries. However, it is for the first time that animals have been recovered alive from poachers and repatriation of turtles has taken place.”

Eight different species of freshwater turtles are found in Pakistan; five of them are globally threatened species. All eight freshwater turtle species are listed in the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora) Appendices I & II and their import and export without a legal permit is prohibited. These turtles are found in the entire Indus river system.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2014

Opinion

Editorial

Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
Updated 19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

The govt ought to take a direct approach comprising convincing communication with the students and Kyrgyz authorities.
Ominous demands
Updated 18 May, 2024

Ominous demands

The federal government needs to boost its revenues to reduce future borrowing and pay back its existing debt.
Property leaks
18 May, 2024

Property leaks

THE leaked Dubai property data reported on by media organisations around the world earlier this week seems to have...
Heat warnings
18 May, 2024

Heat warnings

STARTING next week, the country must brace for brutal heatwaves. The NDMA warns of severe conditions with...