For Immediate Release:
29 August 2024
Contact:
Saloni Sakaria; SaloniS@petaindia.org
Hiraj Laljani; HirajL@petaindia.org
Jamshedpur – Acting on a tip from a concerned citizen, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India worked with the Jamshedpur Forest Division of the Jharkhand Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change to rescue two Indian star tortoises – species protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972 (as amended in 2022) – who were being kept for sale at the Atlantic Aquarium shop in the Sonari area of Jamshedpur in blatant violation of the WPA. A preliminary offence report has been registered against the unidentified perpetrators under sections 9, 39, 50, and 51 of the WPA. The seized animals are being kept under observation in the custody of the forest department in the Mango area of Jamshedpur. Possessing a species protected under Schedule I is an offence punishable by a prison sentence of three to seven years and a minimum fine of Rs 25,000.
“PETA India is grateful to the Jamshedpur Forest Division of the Jharkhand forest department for promptly rescuing these tortoises and taking action,” says PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Saloni Sakaria. “This incident is exactly why laws exist to keep wild animals where they belong – in nature.”
Indian star tortoises are seized from illegal traders more often than any other species of tortoise and are classified as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. Because tortoises are wild animals, when kept in homes, they typically are fed an unnatural or inappropriate diet and relegated to dingy tanks without any enrichment.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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