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Protected Turtles Found in Baddi Shop, Owner Booked
21 Mar
Summary
- A shop owner in Baddi was booked for unlawfully keeping two protected turtles.
- The turtles are Indian roofed turtles, listed under Schedule-1 of wildlife law.
- The rescue was prompted by an environmentalist's online complaint.
A shop owner in Himachal Pradesh's Baddi was booked on Thursday for unlawfully keeping two Indian roofed turtles. These turtles are designated as protected under Schedule-1 of The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The animals were rescued and subsequently transferred to the care of the Wildlife Department.
The accused, identified as Charanjit Arora, faces charges under several sections of the Wildlife Protection Act. Officials noted the turtles were kept in a small aquarium lacking essential provisions like basking space and UV light, leading to visible health deterioration and shell infections. One turtle was a juvenile, while the other was an adult.
The intervention was initiated after an online complaint from Sahil Sharma, an environmentalist and wildlife rescuer from Rajpura, Punjab. Sharma's complaint, which detailed concerns about illegal wildlife trade, prompted an investigation by the Divisional Forest Officer, resulting in the rescue operation.
