Word Turtle News, 03/17/2019

Smuggler arrested in Papua with over 2,000 endangered turtles

A man has been arrested for trying to smuggle 2,000 endangered pig-nosed turtles, police said, marking the latest wildlife-trafficking arrest as the Southeast Asian nation battles the vast trade.

Authorities in Papua province said they seized 2,227 of the palm-sized turtles which were stuffed into boxes on a boat docked in the remote town of Agats.

“Officers saw a port worker carrying three big boxes and got suspicious,” Papua police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal said late Thursday.

“This is protected species and they are not for sale.”

Following the discovery, police arrested another man believed to be involved in the trafficking bid. The port worker was not detained.

If convicted, the arrested man could face up to five years in prison and a 100 million rupiah ($7,000) fine, police said.

It was not clear where the turtle shipment was headed.

Click the link to read more…

Turtle News From Around the World

Conservation

South Africa:- Pemba the turtle: A year at sea

Crime & Punishment

Germany:- Man tries to smuggle tortoises disguised as desserts through Berlin airport

India:- Wildlife STF nabs Kolkata man in Sagar for turtle poaching

Education

Bangladesh:- Prof Stanford talks about preserving turtles, tortoises

This Week In Turtles…

Join Tortoise Group “virtually” on Sunday, March 17th at 10:30am as we tour our Emergency Habitat and show some of our adoptable tortoises! Click here for there Facebook page and join them live Sunday morning, you can ask questions and find out how we care for our tortoises before they find forever homes!

TheTurtleRoom is looking for several individuals passionate about turtle conservation to join our volunteer staff team in a variety of specific roles! Two of these openings relate directly to this World Turtle News blog feature. We also have several other opportunities available for a variety of talents. Please check out this page for more details on each position, the requirements, and responsibilities. We look forward to hearing from you.

Question or Concerns? Want to submit an article to get posted? Email us at [email protected].

Photo from AFP.

WTN Editor

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top