Forest Department Madhya Pradesh: The owner of turtles confiscated was given 15 days time to register the pets and provide necessary details on Tuesday.
The owner of turtles confiscated was given 15 days time to register the pets and provide necessary details on Tuesday.
Forest department team had rescued turtles from a Tantrik’s house in Akhand Nagar on Monday.
Following the information received from some sources, the rescue team reached and raided the house of Tantrik Baba Ajay Mishra.
The Tantrik lives on number four street of Akhand Nagar. The area comes under Aerodrum police station area.
“Tantrik Ajay Mishra used to make people to worship turtles to bring ‘Lakshmi’, symbol of luxuries and wealth to the house,” said AK Shrivastava, sub-divisional officer.
The team found two turtle from tantrik's house. “The turtles are 8 inches in length, so they are fairly surviving,” Shrivastava said.
The turtles were confiscated under suspicion. On Tuesday, the turtles were identified as Red-eared slider. “The turtles are usually found in America and are very sensitive by environment,” Shrivasatava said.
Since 1975, selling baby turtles that are less than 4 inches long has been illegal in the US, because some reptiles—red-eared sliders included—can harbor salmonella on their skin.
“Only indigenous species of turtles and tortoises are protected under Wildlife Act, so in case of exotic animals, we cannot register a case against them,” Shrivastava said.
In India, as per the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), exotic birds that are not native to India can be kept as pets while the local birds are categorized under wild animals and are illegal to keep as pets.
“As per identification, the turtles are exotic, i.e. brought from other countries than India,” divisional forest officer (DFO) Narendra Pandwa said. However, it is necessary for people to even register their exotic animals on the official portal.
The owner Mishra was called to forest department office on Tuesday and informed about the registration.
“We have instructed the owner to provide the necessary information including when, where, from whom and for how much were the turtles bought,” Shrivastava said. He added that this information is critical to ensure that no illegal trading was a part of the securing process.
“Further, after registration, we can keep a check on the survival of the turtles,” Shrivastava said. The owner has been given 15 days to provide the requisite bills and information about the turtles for registration.
Forest department team had rescued turtles from a Tantrik’s house in Akhand Nagar on Monday.
Following the information received from some sources, the rescue team reached and raided the house of Tantrik Baba Ajay Mishra.
The Tantrik lives on number four street of Akhand Nagar. The area comes under Aerodrum police station area.
“Tantrik Ajay Mishra used to make people to worship turtles to bring ‘Lakshmi’, symbol of luxuries and wealth to the house,” said AK Shrivastava, sub-divisional officer.
The team found two turtle from tantrik's house. “The turtles are 8 inches in length, so they are fairly surviving,” Shrivastava said.
The turtles were confiscated under suspicion. On Tuesday, the turtles were identified as Red-eared slider. “The turtles are usually found in America and are very sensitive by environment,” Shrivasatava said.
Since 1975, selling baby turtles that are less than 4 inches long has been illegal in the US, because some reptiles—red-eared sliders included—can harbor salmonella on their skin.
“Only indigenous species of turtles and tortoises are protected under Wildlife Act, so in case of exotic animals, we cannot register a case against them,” Shrivastava said.
In India, as per the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), exotic birds that are not native to India can be kept as pets while the local birds are categorized under wild animals and are illegal to keep as pets.
“As per identification, the turtles are exotic, i.e. brought from other countries than India,” divisional forest officer (DFO) Narendra Pandwa said. However, it is necessary for people to even register their exotic animals on the official portal.
The owner Mishra was called to forest department office on Tuesday and informed about the registration.
“We have instructed the owner to provide the necessary information including when, where, from whom and for how much were the turtles bought,” Shrivastava said. He added that this information is critical to ensure that no illegal trading was a part of the securing process.
“Further, after registration, we can keep a check on the survival of the turtles,” Shrivastava said. The owner has been given 15 days to provide the requisite bills and information about the turtles for registration.