Peru Confiscates 4,000 Live Amazon Turtles at Airport

Peruvian authorities announced on Thursday that they have confiscated around 4,000 turtles originating from the Amazon at the nation’s primary international airport, according to the national wildlife service.The National Forestry and Wildlife Service revealed in a statement that it had intercepted “a shipment of live turtles at the Jorge Chavez airport intended for export to Indonesia.”

Among the reptiles were baby Arrau turtles, the largest river turtle in South America, and yellow-spotted river turtles, both discovered in small transparent plastic containers within cardboard boxes.Both turtle species are included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora Appendix II, which mandates the monitoring and regulation of trade.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature categorizes the yellow-spotted river turtle, the second largest freshwater turtle in the Amazon, as vulnerable to extinction.Interpol notes that the illicit wildlife trade, valued at up to $20 billion annually, is propelling numerous species toward the brink of extinction.CITES emphasizes that tortoises and turtles rank among the most endangered animal groups globally.

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