751 black-pond turtles stuck in Hong Kong are waiting to come home

KARACHI: 

More than 700 black-pond turtles have been waiting for Sindh’s wildlife officials for nearly a month to bring them back home. So far they have been unable to do so as the wildlife department’s request is still pending approval.

On February 27, custom officials in Hong Kong intercepted a fishing vessel in its territory and seized around 751 turtles. They contacted their Pakistani counterparts immediately to inform them about what they had come across and asked them to collect the turtles as Hong Kong was not their country of origin.

A source claimed that since turtle smuggling was very common in Sindh, the federal ministry for climate change contacted the Sindh wildlife department and asked them to take action. The source added that the department had been unable do so as it did not have sufficient funds.

Talking to media sources, the source confirmed that the turtles were from Pakistan and added that the smugglers had not been identified.