A large-scale network,supported by high international demand for exotic pets, is causing extreme suffering to the animals and threatening the survival of the star tortoise. In one site alone, at least 55,000 tortoises were poached from the wild in one year,for centuries, in rural parts of India, star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) have been traditionally kept as pets in many homes, their owners believing that they bring good luck and fortune. The unique star-like yellow pattern on their shell is making them an increasingly popular target for illegal wildlife trade.The number of tortoises being smuggled is staggering. Wildlife experts have estimated more than 50,000 are illegally collected from just one group of villages each year alone.After being transported to eastern India, the tortoises are shipped off to other Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and China.read more about the illegal trade here;http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2015/nov/20/fading-stars-indias-illegal-tortoise-trade-in-pictures
A large-scale network,supported by high international demand for exotic pets, is causing extreme suffering to the animals and threatening the survival of the star tortoise. In one site alone, at least 55,000 tortoises were poached from the wild in one year,for centuries, in rural parts of India, star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) have been traditionally kept as pets in many homes, their owners believing that they bring good luck and fortune. The unique star-like yellow pattern on their shell is making them an increasingly popular target for illegal wildlife trade.The number of tortoises being smuggled is staggering. Wildlife experts have estimated more than 50,000 are illegally collected from just one group of villages each year alone.After being transported to eastern India, the tortoises are shipped off to other Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and China.read more about the illegal trade here;http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2015/nov/20/fading-stars-indias-illegal-tortoise-trade-in-pictures
