The Prevalence of Vulnerable South Asian Freshwater Turtles in the Illegal Trade

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The prevalence of vulnerable South Asian freshwater turtles in the illegal trade

The illegal trade in freshwater turtles and tortoises and one remains outstanding on INTERPOL’s Red for pets is widespread and is increasingly characte- Notice. rised as transnational, organised wildlife crime. It poses a substantial threat to numerous species, During this two-year investigation, the WJC ope- many of which are already critically endangered. ratives were offered and often directly sighted se- The demand to own live wildlife is often coupled veral species of tortoises and freshwater turtles, with a desire for rarer and harder to obtain species allowing for corroboration of species for sale. As and is particularly prevalent for freshwater tortoi- part of the evidence collection, all such instances ses and turtles as exotic pets, the latter having beco- and the species, quantity and value of these offers me one of the most threatened vertebrate groups were documented. During Operation Dragon, an globally.1 estimated minimum of 20,400 specimens deriving from 16 species of tortoises (four) and freshwater As part of the Wildlife Justice Commission’s (WJC) turtles (12) listed in Appendix I and II of the Con- mission to disrupt and help dismantle transnatio- vention on International Trade in Endangered nal criminal networks, the organisation sought to Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) were offe- tackle the freshwater turtle and tortoise trade in red for sale. While this approach made it possible Asia, which is particularly prevalent in this region. to quantify the scope of illegal trade, it also meant that species of concern not commonly seen on the Operation Dragon international market could be detected. Between January 2016 and January 2018, the WJC conducted Operation Dragon focused on cri- Entry point minal networks operating in the illegal trade in The WJC undertakes undercover, intelligence-led live birds, reptiles, turtles, tortoises and primates, investigations and will often engage directly with which are in high demand for the live pet trade traders and brokers as prospective buyers. across South and South-East Asia. Over the past 10 years with 100,000 turtles seized and no major Using intelligence and analysis of social media, targets arrested, the WJC decided to focus on pre- the WJC identified a network of Indian males ba- viously untouched networks and to identify and sed in Chennai and Kuala Lumpur engaged in the expose the corruption that facilitates the trade. trafficking, primarily in CITES Appendix I-listed species such as Black Spotted Turtles and Indian This focused and closely co-ordinated investiga- Star Tortoises (Appendix II). However, the authors tion resulted in the arrest of 30 high-level persons also detected the emergence of several other less of interest across Malaysia, India and Bangladesh, frequently encountered species in trade during of which five have been given custodial sentences the investigation. The WJC seeks to substantiate

1- Source: Turtles in Trouble. The World’s 25+ Most Endangered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles – 2018. Full link on pdf online at www.wildlifejustice.org 3

http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wpcontent/uploads/file/Top%2025/Turtle_Conservation_ Coalition_2018_Top_ 25+_Turtles_in_Trouble_ lr.pdf. offers of products for sale made online or via mo- water turtles, such as Red-crowned Roofed Turtles bile messaging by arranging meetings to view the and Three-striped Roofed Turtles (Images 1 & 2) as products, and to discuss purchase. All engage- well as other popular, well-recognised species on ments with traders are recorded, transcribed and the market such as Black Spotted Turtles. While documented for evidential purposes. To contex- the number of these turtles offered for sale du- tualise investigative findings, the WJC also un- ring the investigation is relatively low in compa- dertook several desktop reviews to understand rison to other species (Table 1), there is concern the occurrence of these species in trade. given their endangered status, with any removal from the wild having a significant impact on their Investigative findings ability to recover. For example, Black Spotted Some of the wildlife traders engaged with during Turtles, which are considered endangered, featu- the course of the investigation in India and Ma- red significantly during the investigation and have laysia were trafficking species of South Asian fresh- been included for comparative purposes in Table 1.

Table 1. Species and number of South Asian freshwater turtles offered to the WJC (2016-2018), with status and protection levels

Wildlife No. of indivi- Species Distribution IUCN Status CITES Protection duals offered Appendix Act, India to the WJC

Assam Roofed Turtle Bangladesh, India Endangered (Bangladesh), Appendix II SCH.I 125 Pangshura sylhetensis Critically Endangered (India)

Black Spotted Turtle Bangladesh, India, Endangered (Bangladesh), Appendix I SCH.I 7,342 Geoclemys hamiltonii Nepal, Pakistan Vulnerable (India)

Brown Roofed Turtle Bangladesh, India, Near Threatened Appendix II Not Listed 265 Pangshura smithii Pakistan

Red-crowned Roofed Turtle Bangladesh, Critically Endangered Appendix II SCH.I 306 Batagur kachuga central Nepal, north-east India

Three-striped Roofed Turtle Bangladesh, Critically Endangered Appendix II Not Listed 172 Batagur dhongoka north-east India (Bangladesh) and Endangered (India)

It was noted that traders would place an empha- Kong and Thailand who sought Red-crowned sis on a species’ rarity on the market. This was Roofed Turtle and Three-striped Roofed turtle substantiated to the WJC by a trader based in specimens on account of their rarity and that he Malaysia, who was known to source products from had stocks of this species available for sale. India, claiming he had many buyers from Hong

4 Image of Red-crowned Image of Three- Roofed Turtle provided striped Roofed by a trader to the WJC Turtle provided via Facebook Messenger by a trader to in October 2016. the WJC via Facebook Messenger in October 2016.

Conversely, it appears that while the WJC obser- what is being documented in underground trade ved these four species of freshwater turtles being compared to the number recorded in illegal trade offered for sale covertly, it is apparent that they may mean that current efforts by law enforce- are seldom reported as being seized from trade, as ment agencies are not sufficient to detect such is illustrated in Table 2 which records reported sei- species in illegal consignments. Furthermore, ac- zures between 2014 and 2017 across Asia accor- cording to the CITES Trade Database, none of the- ding to open source research. It also highlights se four species has featured in legal trade between how frequently Black Spotted Turtles are seized 2014 and 2017, with fewer than 15 individuals from trade in comparison. This disparity between recorded for 2013.

Table 2. No. of individuals seen in trade by the WJC (2016-18) compared to seized from trade (2014-17)

Total No. of individuals Total No. of individuals Species sighted / offered to the WJC 2014 2015 2016 2017 seized from trade

Assam Roofed Turtle 125 0 0 0 0 0 Pangshura sylhetensis

Brown Roofed Turtle 265 0 0 0 3 3 Pangshura smithii

Black Spotted Turtle 7,342 4,627 3,362 1,653 28 9,670 Geoclemys hamiltonii

Red-crowned Roofed Turtle 306 0 0 1 27 28 Batagur kachuga

Three-striped Roofed Turtle 172 0 0 0 0 0 Batagur dhongoka

5 Motivating factors cipitate the extinction of rare species. Rarity in the These species appear to command a higher price wild is a particularly unique characteristic of the than other more commonly traded species such as freshwater turtle and tortoise trade - the critically Black Spotted Turtles. Consequently, smaller con- endangered Ploughshare Tortoise Astrochelys yni- signments can be transported more easily and still phora likely qualifies as testament to this pheno- yield a healthy profit, as this could require less menon. complicity of corrupt officials, keeping costs low. Conclusion and Recommendations During the investigation, the WJC collected over The fact that these species of South Asian fresh- 200 different data points on prices of species offe- water turtles are being targeted for international red for sale, the median price per head for Black markets such as Hong Kong and China, with cri- Spotted Turtles was calculated to be USD 110, com- minal networks from Thailand and Malaysia faci- pared to USD 1,150 for a Three-striped Roofed litating the trade is great cause for concern given Turtle or USD 1,700 for a Red-crowned Roofed their fragile status in the wild. This briefing paper Turtle. should form sufficient basis to direct further research to assess the extent to which these species The occurrence of these species on the internatio- are in demand at an international level. This will nal markets in Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong assist in the formulation of recommendations to appears to be rarely reported. While some literatu- tackle trade to prevent these species being further re exists in relation to the threatened status of the threatened and foster closer collaboration between species, there is little published research and/or su- relevant countries. It will also provide much needed fficient data supporting this. However, WJC was data to update assessments of population levels in frequently offered these species during the investi- the wild. gation, albeit not to the extent of other, better-known species. Of note is that the rarity of the- Of further note is that the Three-striped Roofed se species is cited as a selling feature, facilitated by Turtle and the Brown Roofed Turtle, despite being the above factors, which may be aiding crime. This threatened, are not included in India’s Wildlife Pro- desire is further compounded by harder to obtain tection Act, 1972 (Table 1). As a matter of urgency, species, where “the rarer the species the better”. wildlife agencies such as the Indian Forest Service This is likely to encourage an anthropogenic allee should consider including them in the law in order effect, where the value attributed to rarity may pre- to prevent further exploitation of legal loopholes.

Prepared by Sarah Stoner, Senior Investigations Manager, Wildlife Justice Commission

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