760 rescued black-spotted turtles released into Indus near Sukkur

12 suspects standing trial for bid to smuggle the reptiles

found in Friday night raid on a Defence bungalow

Karachi 

Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) officials and WWF-Pakistan volunteers jointly released 760 black-spotted turtles (Geoclemys hamiltonii) into their natural habitat in Sukkur on Monday. 

These turtles had been rescued by the SWD in collaboration with Karachi police during a Friday night raid on a bungalow on Khayaban-e-Rahat in Phase VI, DHA, in which 12 traffickers -- nine Pakistani and three Chinese nationals -- were arrested.

On Saturday, a court remanded all the 12 accused to jail custody till September 23 and accepted a request of Sindh Wildlife Department officials to allow them to release the turtles back into their habitat as they were a “perishable item” and could die if kept away from their natural habitat.

The freshwater turtles were released into a lake in Kallar Goth near Rohri Toll Plaza and Nara Canal near Aror, Sukkur, by senior officials of the wildlife department along with representatives of WWF-Pakistan, other civil society organisations and media.

Speaking on the occasion, Adnan Hamid Khan, deputy sanctuary warden, SWD, said his department was keeping a close eye on illegal trade of endangered species, especially black-spotted turtles which were being smuggled out of Pakistan.

The department was making every possible effort to curb the illegal trade in the province and have harsh punishments imposed on those involved, he said, lauding WWF-Pakistan’s help with the timely release of the reptiles into the Indus River. 

Ali Dehlavi, WWF-Pakistan chief in the Sindh and Balochistan region, termed the seizure of such a large number of black pond turtles a great step towards curbing wildlife trafficking from Pakistan. 

“Poaching and smuggling of freshwater turtles, due to their demand in the East Asian countries particularly China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Vietnam, has led to a significant decline in their populations,” he added.

Dehalvi maintained that WWF-Pakistan was working in close coordination with the provincial wildlife department to tackle illegal wildlife trade in the country and was also utilizing its resources to support these initiatives. 

He stressed the need for strict vigilance on wildlife trafficking and called for an awareness campaign to sensitise people on this issue. “WWF-Pakistan strongly supports stringent penalties on smugglers so that the trafficking of wildlife species is discouraged at the local, national as well as international levels,” he added. 

SWD official Muhmmad Azeem warned the traffickers to refrain from committing wildlife crimes; otherwise, strict punishments would be awarded to them.

He also appealed to the people to inform the department whenever they observed such an activity in their locality so that timely action was taken against traffickers and poachers.

Altaf Hussain Sheikh, manager conservation Sindh, WWF-Pakistan, said the release of 760 turtles into their natural habitat was a great achievement on the part of the Sindh Wildlife Department and WWF-Pakistan after foiling a network of traffickers.

“Turtles contribute to maintain the integrity of freshwater ecosystems and have the important role of scavengers. This seizure has also conveyed a strong message to poachers to refrain from harming wildlife or else face strict punitive action,” he said and emphasised the need to raise awareness and mass mobilisation of public and relevant organisations on this issue.

There are eight species of freshwater turtles in Pakistan; five of which are globally threatened according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.