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The World Turtle Day
The World Turtle Day was celebrated on May 23,
2011. World Turtle Day is an effort to celebrate and preserve these endearing creatures, The Humane Society of the United States is
urging people to beware of fairs, carnivals, flea markets, street vendors and pet shops that sell or distribute baby turtles.
May 23 was designated World Turtle Day in 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue to
highlight the threats to the survival of turtles and tortoises and what
we can do to protect these remarkable animals. It may not be as popular as other designated days like World Environment Day
but it definitely holds a significance to save one of the finest creations of the nature- the turtle.
“Turtles have played a significant role in the world for millions of
years,” said Debbie Leahy, Captive Wildlife Regulatory Specialist for
The HSUS. “It’s disheartening to see their populations decline due to
something as easily corrigible as not purchasing baby turtles as pets.It’s destructive to both turtles and humans.”
Turtles are one of the most enduring creatures on Earth. They have
survived for more than 200 million years, and continue to fascinate each
generation of children, who find endless wonders under those hard shells. Yet our connection to turtles can also be damaging. Many turtle
species are declining in part due to the pet trade. Children often lose
interest in pet animals obtained on impulse, and parents may not be prepared to care for a turtle who can live for decades and grow to be a
foot long. Turtles need proper lighting and temperature, a water filtration system, and room to grow. Countless pet turtles die from
being kept in inadequate conditions.
Humans, especially young children and the elderly, are also put at risk
by close contact with pet turtles. A major Salmonella outbreak in 2007 and 2008 that sickened 107 people, mostly children, in 34 states was
attributed to pet turtles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that turtles be kept out of homes with children under the age of 5.
Turtles in India
In Hindu mythology, it is believed that Lord Vishnu reincarnated as a
Kachhapa (turtle) holds the Earth on His back. In Varanasi these creatures of nature have been assigned the job
to clean the Ganga, the National River of India. For this purpose, a
seven-km stretch of the Ganga from Rajghat to Ramnagar has been made tortoise sanctuary under the Ganga Action Plan
(GAP). A turtle rehabilitation centre has also been established in Sarnath for hatching and rearing of the creature.
According to the records of the Kashi Wildlife Division, so far over
34,000 tortoises were reared and released into the Ganga. "This year, we
have released 1,154 tortoises into the Ganga on April 25 and presently
1,028 young tortoises are being reared at the Sarnath hatchery," Jai
Prakash, a KWD staff, told TOI on May 23, 2011. "These tortoises will be
released into the river in May-June next year. Besides, 2,000 eggs are
also being hatched at the breeding centre," he said. According to him,
33,356 tortoises were released into the Ganga till 2010. Till 1993, when
the first phase of GAP was completed, 28,920 tortoises were `dropped`
into the Ganga in Varanasi. With the end of GAP-I, the tortoise breeding
project was also stopped in 1993. Later, the forest department revived the programme in 2005.
The stretch of the Ganga from Rajghat to Ramnagar Fort was declared
wildlife protected zone in 1989 under the Wild Life (Conservation) Act-1972 while the breeding centre in Sarnath was started in 1987. As
per the act, activities like sand mining are prohibited at the protected sanctuary.
Turtles are threatened by poachers and smugglers
Despite the legal provisions to protect wildlife, Turtles are threatened
seriously by poachers and smugglers. Though the enforcement team of forest department keeps vigil on such activities, the smuggling of
turtles continues to go on. According to a report from Bihar, four persons belonging to West Bengal were arrested
with 1,531 turtles in Gaya district in February last. The report said
the arrested persons confessed that they had already transported three
similar consignments to Kolkata in the same month. The tortoises were
being smuggled from Varanasi to Kolkata. Since 2006, the police of Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh recovered more than 15,000 turtles from smugglers. It
was reported that with negligible awareness and concern for aquatic ecosystem among the authorities, Bihar and Jharkhand have emerged as a
safe transit routes for smuggling of freshwater turtles, which invariably reach West Bengal.
The meat of the fresh-water tortoise is in huge demand, as it said to
have aphrodisiac properties. Different groups of organised smugglers
that operate from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal run this racket. These
tortoises, which are picked from UP rivers, are sent to Malda in West
Bengal from where these creatures are secretly taken to Bangladesh
or consumed locally. India has banned the trade of tortoises under the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act,
but the huge premium involved with the trade has encouraged poachers to
trade with impunity. Poaching or smuggling of the endangered animals
invites punishment of three to seven years or Rs 10,000 or both. |
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