KANPUR: Come winters, as lakhs of turtles go into hibernation, the region’s turtle smugglers become active to cash in on the situation.

Also, as most of the agricultural fields dry up post harvesting of rice crop, and the level of water in rivers decreases, poachers are able to easily trap the aquatic animals. The turtles harpooned by poachers often land in fish markets of West Bengal and Assam, besides countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, which are the biggest consumers of turtle meat.

Two back-to-back incidents, wherein two people were arrested with Indian flap-shelled (Lissemys punctata) and Soft-shelled turtles (Aspideretes Gangeticus) in the last one week is direct evidence of the rampant smuggling. A senior forest official in Etawah admitted that smugglers were supplying the turtles to West Bengal and Assam.

Ajay, who was arrested near Balrai village by Jaswantnagar police in Etawah on Tuesday confessed that he had bought the turtles from local tribes. According to a police official, Ajay regularly supplies turtles to poachers active in the region. He was caught red-handed while on way to dispatch the consignment of nearly 23 turtles to a poacher.

The Indian flap-shelled turtle is the most sought-after turtle species because they are larger and fleshier than other turtles. At times, they can be one feet tall and have been known to survive dry weather for up to five months by going into hibernation.

A stretch of Ganga and its major tributaries like Yamuna and Chambal have of late seen mindless killing of defenceless creatures with there being no one to check the poachers. The turtles play an important role in maintaining the ecosystem of the river, said Rajiv Chauhan, secretary, society for conservation of nature. The soft-shelled turtles clean the ecosystem by consuming the carcasses of dead aquatic animals.

Chauhan, who has surveyed a major stretch of Chambal river and had himself seen the poachers in the area, said, “The poachers, who are mostly people hailing from Kanjar and Mallah tribes are equipped with China-net and a specially designed iron hook to trap turtles.”

On April 23, 2012, the staff of Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary recovered a boat and a large fishing net from Kunwarpur village under the Sahson police station area. Expressing concern over the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities towards this, Chauhan said the forest department should intensify river patrolling particularly with the onset of winters to ensure the safety of turtles which are schedule-I animals and killing of which is banned under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

In the past one decade, the cops in the region have recovered almost 25,000 to 30,000 turtles of various hues from smugglers, he added. On Januray 9, 2012, around 4,000 rare turtles were seized from a truck, which had arrived at Jalaun crossing under the Kotwali police station of Auraiyya district.

The turtles in 68 sacks, some of them in critical condition, were found loaded in a truck belonging to one Shiv Pratap Rathore of Civil Lines Etawah, on its way to West Bengal. Similarly, on January 25, nearly 1380 rare turtles were seized from a truck in the limits of Saifai police station in Etawah district.

According to police, the turtles, worth several lakh, were being taken to Vangaon area in District Uttar Pargana of West Bengal. Manik Chandra Yadav, district forest officer, Etawah said, the accused would be prosecuted under the Wildlife Protection Act and measures would be initiated to tighten vigil along the river banks and water bodies to stop illegal wildlife trade.

“Turtles seized on Tuesday by Jaswantnagar police were released into river Yamuna. Patrolling along the banks of Chambal river and other water bodies is being intensified,” said the DFO.