Cheryl Lin Channel NewsAsia 26 Nov 18;
SINGAPORE: Fifty-one Indian star tortoises that were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade in Singapore embarked on a journey back home to India on Monday (Nov 26).
The repatriation exercise was carried out by animal welfare group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), with support from the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), the Indian government and Wildlife SOS in India.
It is ACRES' largest mass repatriation of rescued animals to date.
"I couldn't wait for this day to come. It's been years of efforts that we've been putting in - not just to repatriate the tortoises, but also to ensure that they were in good health before we sent them over," said the group's deputy chief executive Anbarasi Boopal.
ACRES had been caring for the animals for eight years, while repatriation plans had been in the pipeline for more than two years.
The group added that the repatriation was a landmark event for India and Singapore and demonstrates their "strong commitment" to ending the illegal wildlife trade.
The tortoises will take a four-and-a-half-hour flight to Bangalore, India, after which they will be quarantined for a month in a protected area in Karnataka state.
They will then be released into the wild, but have been microchipped to allow experts to continue monitoring them.
However, executing the project was no mean feat. Apart from logistical issues, the group said financing the project was a huge hurdle, as it required up to S$60,000.
In fact, the groups’ fundraising target was only achieved on Sunday, one night before the exercise was set to happen, according to Ms Boopal.
The bulk of this sum came from donations - such as the S$15,000 it raised on a crowdfunding platform.
"Even though the number of tortoises we are sending back is just the tip of the iceberg of illegal wildlife trade, we are thrilled that this has been made possible, thanks to support from the agencies and from individuals who have donated," she said.
Ms Boopal added that the public can also do its part to root out illegal wildlife trade in Singapore by being the group's "eyes and ears on the ground".
She encouraged people to report any illegal wildlife trading activities that they may encounter online or offline.
The star tortoise is among the five most common types of illegal wildlife seized by AVA, along with hedgehogs, ball pythons, sugar gliders and leopard geckos.
Source: CNA/zl(hm)
Star treatment for 51 Indian tortoises flying home after being trafficked to Singapore
Cheryl Teh Straits Times 26 Nov 18;
SINGAPORE - Nick, Surya and Takeshi are illegal immigrants who will be put on a plane home on Monday (Nov 26). They have resided in Singapore for years and will now be sent back to their own country for good - on a Singapore Airlines flight, no less.
But why the VIP treatment?
Nick and his friends are three of 51 Indian star tortoises found to have been illegally trafficked here.
This is the largest number of Indian star tortoises - coveted for their star-patterned shells - to be repatriated from Singapore.
Their striking, intricate appearances make them an easy target for poachers, who are often part of organised crime rings that profit from animal trafficking.
The lucky few saved by the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) are just a fraction of the estimated 10,000 to 20,000 taken from the wild to meet the international demand for exotic pets.
Acres has cared for the tortoises for more than eight years at its premises in Jalan Lekar in western Singapore.
The organisation has spared no expense to provide varied and tailored diets for the tortoises, along with intensive veterinary care and healthy environmental conditions to keep them fit for travel.
Partner organisation Wildlife SOS India will meet the creatures after their 4½ hour flight to Bangalore, India.
They will then be quarantined, monitored, tagged with transmitters and released into a protected reserve in Karnataka state.
"I am relieved that these tortoises are finally coming back to where they belong," said Mr Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS.
The tortoises were saved from a variety of places in Singapore, such as roadsides, local households where they were ill-treated, and the briefcases of smugglers.
Ms Anbarasi Boopal, deputy chief executive of Acres, said: "The odds never favoured us, but our perseverance and sheer will, together with support from Wildlife SOS India, paved the way for us to repatriate these animals."
She added that this is not the first time that star tortoises have been repatriated.
The Indian star tortoise is not native to or suited to living in Singapore, as it struggles to cope with the humid environment.
The species is native to Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, and a small area of south-eastern Pakistan, which are cooler, arid regions.
However, according to Acres, they are often kept illegally as pets in Singapore and not cared for properly. Owners often feed them supermarket-bought vegetables, which do not come with the calcium and vitamins required to keep their shells healthy.
Little is known about how to best care for and feed Indian star tortoises, particularly about their diet.
The 51 kept at Acres were fed vegetables and flowers, with additional calcium and vitamin supplements.
The organisation found that some of the tortoises were suffering from soft shells or organ failure, as their shells had not grown big enough to house their bodies.
It cost Acres $6,000 a month to care for the 51 tortoises and another $1,000 per tortoise to send them back to India in a special cargo crate.
The Indian star tortoise is on its way to being listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, one step down from "endangered".
Acres continues to care for other wild species rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, such as red-footed tortoises, pig-nosed turtles, green iguanas, snapping turtles, and sugar gliders, among others.
Acres's Animal Crime Investigation Unit also probes and monitors the illegal wildlife trade in Singapore, working closely with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority to tackle the issue.
