Testudines (Turtles and tortoises) - Key species: Illicit trafficking and trade in India: A status update Anees Cherkunnath* and Ani Bency Jacob

Dr. Ani Bency Jacob,MVSc,Ph D

Assistant Professor Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, India

Dr. Anees Cherkunnath IRS*

Deputy Commissioner Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs Government of India

Testudines in India

•One of the most diverse chelonian faunas in the world

•29 species of tortoises and freshwater turtles •6 species of marine turtles.

Are they really important?

Ecosystem maintenance. What they are?

Cleaners (garbage men of the animal world) Protectors (from pests) Distributors (of seeds) Construcon workers (by digging burrows) Vital indicators (of environmental contaminaon) Key stone species (by balancing ecosystem)

Threats

ØA rise in poaching of turtles and tortoises

Ø Testudines exploited for medicine, jewellery, food and pet trades.

Ø Knowledge on the paern of trafficking of testudines is inevitable to formulate prevenve acon plan Commonly trafficked testudines

Star Tortoise Olive Ridley Turtle Tricarinate Hill Turtle Spoed Pond Terrapin So Shell Narrow Necked Turtle Indian Tent Turtle Brown Roofed Turtle Indian Eyed Turtle Assam Roofed Turtle Commonly trafficked testudines

Indian Star Tortoise Olive Ridley Turtle

Tricarinate Hill Turtle Spoed Pond Terrapin So Shell Narrow Necked Turtle Indian Tent Turtle Brown Roofed Turtle Indian Eyed Turtle Assam Roofed Turtle Conservaon status Common Name Scienfic Name Conservaon status

Star Tortoise Geochelone elegans CITES: Appendix II

Olive Ridley Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea CITES: Appendix I

Tricarinate Hill Turtle Melanochelys tricarinata CITES: Appendix I

Spoed Pond Terrapin Geoclemys hamiltonii CITES: Appendix I

So Shell Narrow Necked Chitra indica CITES: Appendix II Turtle Indian Tent Turtle Kachuga tecta tecta CITES: Appendix I

Brown Roofed Turtle Kachuga smithii CITES: Appendix II

Indian Eyed Turtle Morenia petersi CITES: Appendix II Assam Roofed Turtle Kachuga sylhetensis

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the illegal trafficking aempts of important species of turtles and tortoises (testudines) through major Customs ports in Indian subconnent. Materials and Methods

ØTrafficking through various Customs Ports

ØTool- Data from the year 2007 (10 years)

ØSource: Wild life crime control Bureau Indian customs Press Informaon Bureau of India Sensizaon Programmes

• Conducted during the years 2014 – 2018 • Naonal level sensizaon programme • Regional level programmes Findings

Most Trafficked testudines

Indian star tortoise

Spoed Pond Terrapin

Tricarinate hill turtle

Hotspots

Mumbai

Chennai Seizure of illicitly trafficked testudines by Indian Customs

No Species No Place of detection Route of trafficking

1 Star Tortoise 4170 I. Mumbai International Chennai to Bangkok Airport Chennai to Malaysia II. Trivandrum International Airport 2 Tricarinate hill turtle 147 Mumbai International Chennai to Bangkok Airport Chennai to Hongkong

3 Spotted Pond Terrapin 764 Mumbai International Chennai to Bangkok Airport Chennai to Malaysia 4 Indian Eyed Turtle 21 Mumbai International Bihar to Bangkok Airport 5 Assam Roofed Turtle 1 Mumbai International Bihar to Bangkok Airport 6 Indian Tent Turtle 137 Mumbai International Chennai to China Airport 7 Brown Roofed Turtle 88 Mumbai International Chennai to China Airport 8 Soft Shell Narrow 74 Mumbai International Chennai to Thailand Necked Turtle Airport 9 Fresh Olive Ridley Turtle 1 Mumbai General Post Goa to UK Office Paern of trafficking of star tortoise Paern of trafficking of Tricarinate Hill turtle Paern of trafficking of Spoed Pond Terrapin Concealment Techniques

1. Wrapped in cloths and packed in suitcases

2. Dipped in sleeping pill soluon How to Curb ?

1. Task force 2. Interagency Cooperaon 3. Sensisaon 4. Deploying canine detecves

Formaon of a naonal Customs CITES team (Special Task Force)

Task force Customs intelligence officers Customs wildlife expert Trade Intelligence experts Wildlife detector dog expert Invesng officers.

Mission To strengthen the monitoring, detecng and prevenng wild life trafficking

Cooperaon between enforcement agencies and Academicians

Scienfic collaborave studies on Paern of trafficking Idenficaon of vulnerable ports

Research Instutes Regular inputs to enforcement agencies on Paern of trafficking Key species involved

Periodical sensizaon programmes

Sensizaon programme An effecve tools for prevenon of wild life trafficking.

Biannual sensizaon programmes: recommended

Deployment of wild life detector dogs

•At vulnerable customs ports

•Trained to idenfy commonly trafficked wildlife goods (Tiger parts, rhino horn, pangolin scales, live turtles and marine species)

•Detecon dogs can accomplish in minutes what would take a person all day

Conclusion

•Recent paern of trafficking of major species of turtles and tortoises is examined.

•Strengthening of prevenve measures to combat illicit trafficking at idenfied ports.

Acknowledgements

WCO for travel grant