No Soup For You: Over 4 Tons of Endangered Turtles Saved
When pulling into port on a cruise it can be fun to watch all the huge containers being loaded/unloaded and I always wonder what is in them. Occasionally you hear in the news about a seizure of some kind of illegal items, and in the news today is a story about endangered turtles.
Police in New Delhi, India have recovered over 4 tons of endangered Indian flapshell turtles. They were found in transit to Kolkata port before sailing to Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
Instead of meeting their grim fate as meat for turtle soup and ground up for calcium powders, the 6,434 tiny reptiles that were crammed into 140 jute bags are now finding a kinder future.
The special task force that found the turtles has also arrested the kingpin of the smuggling ring and further investigations are being done to find out more.
Indian police say that this is one of the largest seizures of turtles in the history of wildlife recovery.
As the population as a whole gets smarter about the welfare of endangered animals, I love seeing stories like this. Whether it is a commitment by Starwood to ban shark fin soup or a conservation effort by a community, every little bit helps.
