Madagascar Tortoise Trafficking Reaching Epidemic Levels: WCS

Illegal trading of endangered tortoises from Madagascar has soared in the past few years, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. Since the beginning of the year, about 1,000 tortoises have been rescued from potential smugglers.

The illegal trafficking of tortoises has really picked pace in the past few years, especially after the rise of the political crisis in Madagascar. Earlier, natives would protect tortoises under the "fady"- a belief that harming tortoises is taboo.

The WCS along with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Turtle Survival Alliance, Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Turtle Conservancy, Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and other groups has urged authorities to put an end to this trade before the threatened tortoises are wiped out of existence.

Since 2009, poverty, political instability, along with infringement of people who don't follow fady has accelerated the trafficking of tortoises.

"These tortoises are truly one of Madagascar's most iconic species. This level of exploitation is unsustainable. Unless immediate action is taken to better protect the wild populations, their extinction is imminent," said James Deutsch, WCS Executive Director for Africa Programs, according to a statement.

The WSC has urged authorities in Madagascar to protect these tortoises. The Society also said that public education along with strict regulation of tortoise trade in countries like Thailand can help conserve few of the remaining tortoise species.

Recently, authorities in Thailand had arrested a couple after they were found smuggling 54 ploughshare tortoises that amount to about 13 percent of the entire species from Madagascar.  Before that, in 2010, a smuggler in Malaysia was caught with 400 individuals of a rare species of tortoises from Madagascar.

"While the seizure in Thailand was the largest single seizure of ploughshare tortoises in history, the TC (Turtle Conservancy) has documented over 250 Ploughshares in the trade in East and Southeast Asia. According to INTERPOL, only 10 percent of smuggled wildlife is actually seized, suggesting that over 2000 animals have entered the illegal trade into Asia alone. If trade level persists, it will likely lead this species to extinction," Eric Goode, founder of the Turtle Conservancy, said.