Three illegally kept soft shell turtles seized

Islamabad : Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) has retrieved three soft shell turtles from illegal possession of a resident of sector G-9/3.

“An IWMB team, during its ongoing crackdown against illegal wildlife trade yesterday raided a house in the federal capital where the soft shell turtles were found in unauthorized possession of Akbar (pseudo name),” Assistant Director IWMB Sakhwat Ali told this agency.

The turtles, captured from the wild, were bought by the accused from an online outlet, he added.

The trade of such species being captured from the wild was completely banned under the section 14 (1) Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and management) Ordinance, 1979.A first information report was lodged with the Station House Officer (SHO) of Police Station Kohsar to initiate legal action against the accused at the earliest. Earlier, IWMB had been actively launching crackdown against the illegal wildlife traders in various markets of the federal capital.