(IN): Hunting spells doom for Ganga turtles

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Link:

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/hunting-spells-doom-for-ganga-turtles/40933-3.html

 

Hunting spells doom for Ganga turtles

Shiv Pujan Jha

CNN-IBN

 

Bulandshahar: People hunting for turtles is a common sight on the

Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh. Freshwater turtles, which are on the

endangered list, are hunted regularly here for their meat and their

organs.

 

A CNN-IBN team chanced upon a wounded turtle in Bulandshahar earlier

this week hours after it was caught using a specially designed

fishhook net. The hunter was hoping that his catch would fetch him a

hefty sum in the black market.

 

When confronted, Biru, the turtle hunter, was very forthcoming about

his practice. But after some convincing, the man finally let the

turtle free.

 

CNN-IBN: Do you hunt turtles?

 

Answer: No, when it gets caught in my net, I sometimes eat it.

 

CNN-IBN: Are there other people doing it?

 

Answer: I've seen poaching happen here. They catch 10-12 turtles at

one go.

 

The Ganga is home to 11 species of endangered turtles. Some of them —

like the licinus, the citra and the sparidus — breed in southern part

of the Gangetic belt, between Garhmukteshwar and Bulandshahar.

 

But without any patrolling on the river to protect them, hundreds of

these endangered creatures are hunted illegally every year for oil,

meat and medicine. The local administration refuses to admit that

poaching even exists.

 

" There's no poaching. No case of poaching has come to light in recent

times, " says Ashok Kumar, DFO of Buladshahar.

 

But the people who live in these parts know it better. " Earlier there

used to be thousands of turtles on the river banks. Now, there are

very few left, " says Kailash Nishat, a local resident.

 

Effluents from industries set up close to the river and human

encroachment on their breeding grounds have made things even worse for

freshwater turtles.

 

The riverine areas where hundreds of turtles could be spotted once

upon a time, have now been converted into cultivable land,

systematically destroying these turtle breeding grounds.

 

The problem gets further compounded by the fact that almost everyday

ruthless killing of the turtles continues yet the administration

prefer to remain silent.