155 exotic turtles rescued from Udhna aquarium shop

Surat: At least 155 exotic red-eared slider turtles, which are high in demand during Vastu rituals, were rescued by a team of forest department team from an aquarium shop on Udhna crossroads here on Monday. The team also rescued 65 Indian star tortoises, a protected species under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act. Both types of amniotes were kept in the shop to be sold.

The red-eared slider, also known as Singaporean turtle, is an exotic breed and can fetch as much as Rs 2,000 for a pair, investigation by the forest team revealed. “The Singaporean turtles are high in demand since some Vastu or Feng Shui consultants advise their clients to keep one of them in their home in shallow waters in a bowl. They are small in size and look cute,” a forest official said.

Singaporean turtle lives in shallow water and is very sensitive, experts say. It is very difficult to manage yet had been brought here in good numbers looking at the demand, they added. The market rate for an Indian star tortoise is Rs 1,000 per pair. The forest team along with police raided Hindustan Aquarium in Udhna and arrested Bilkis Banu Nishad Painter (45), a resident of Kaji Nu Maidan in Gopi Talav, under Indian Wildlife Protection Act. The turtles were later shifted to the rescue centre of the forest department.

“The woman who was arrested by the forest department told us that a person had delivered the turtles to her. We are trying to identify the person and our investigation will uncover all those involved in the racket,” deputy conservator of forest, Surat, Puneet Nayyar said.

The shop is run by the woman whose husband is under treatment for some illness. The forest department raided the shop on a tip-off from Jirawal Parshwanath Trust.


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