Rare reptiles seized in Asia

Ploughshare Tortoise: Critically Endangered, but in high demand for the illicit pet trade Click photo to enlarge © Chris R Shepherd / TRAFFIC June 2010—Two recent cases involving the attempted smuggling of rare turtles and tortoises in Asia are indicative of a widespread illegal trade in endangered reptiles in the region.

In late May, a truck smuggling 126 turtles was intercepted by Forestry Administration and military police officials in Kandal province, Cambodia, in an operation one official described as being unprecedented in size. The cargo weighed 804 kg.

According to Leslie Perlman, programme manager at CAWT Partner organization, Wildlife Alliance, the cargo comprised 95 Yellow-headed Temple Turtles Hieremys annandalii, listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Endangered and 31 Giant Asian Palm Turtles Heosemys grandis.

Seng Leang, the head of the Forestry Administration office in Takhmao town, said that the turtles were possibly being smuggled from Thailand to Vietnam through Cambodia.

The animals were handed to the Wildlife Alliance, to assist in their recuperation in Koh Kong and Kampong Speu provinces.

A few days later, enforcement agencies in Malaysia discovered 300 tortoises from Madagascar bound and packed in two suitcases at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The bags contained 285 Radiated Tortoises Astrochelys radiata, 14 Spider Tortoises Pyxis arachnoides and a single Ploughshare Tortoise Astrochelys yniphora, one of the rarest tortoise species in the world. All three species are listed in Appendix I of CITES and the Ploughshare Tortoise is listed as Critically Endangered by IUCN, with a wild population estimated at 100 to 400 individuals.

The suitcases had come in on 1 June on an Air Mauritius flight and were discovered by Customs officers at the airport after observing movement in the baggage.

Dr William Schaedla, Regional Director in South-east Asia for TRAFFIC, a CAWT Partner organization, commended the diligence of the authorities involved in the case but expressed his concern that those responsible had not been caught and charged.