350 turtles rescued in Malkangiri
350 turtles rescued in Malkangiri
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Malkangiri: Sources claim that on Wednesday, during a raid at a village in the Kalimela area of Odisha's Malkangiri district, forest officials saved over 350 turtles.
Following a tip, a team of forest officers conducted an early morning raid at MV 65 hamlet in the Tigal panchayat of Kalimela block and found the animals confined in sacks close to a house, they claimed.
The squad, lead by Kalimela Forest Range Officer Sushant Kumar Dalei, also discovered 20 sacks full of turtles during the operation. The accused, however, managed to flee the scene, and efforts are currently being made to find him.
The bags were delivered to the Kalimela range office by representatives of the forest department, who then made plans for the animals' release in a body of water.
Due to consumption and illegal trading, the wild survival of turtles is severely threatened, and their population is rapidly declining. Since a few years ago, there have been numerous turtle smugglers in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
According to officials, the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 makes it a non-bailable offence to smuggle turtles, a Class I species of aquatic mammal. They added that turtles are utilised for food, medicine, and other things.
