Indore
The owner of the two turtles that were confiscated by forest department on Monday, was given 15 days time to register the pets and provide necessary details to the department.
The forest department team had rescued turtles from tantrik Baba Ajay Mishra's house in No. four street Akhand Nagar, coming under Aerodrome police station, on Monday.
“Tantrik Ajay Mishra used to make people worship turtles to bring ‘Lakshmi’,” said AK Shrivastava, sub-divisional officer.
The team seized two turtles from tantrik's house. “The turtles are 8 inches in length and appeared healthy,” 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,” Shrivastava 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 harbour 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 categorised 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 register their exotic animals on the official portal.
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 the turtles were bought for,” 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.
