Ministry to Return 2,800 Smuggled Pig-Nosed Turtles to Natural Habitat

Jakarta (Antara) - The Ministry of Forestry plans to return as many as 2.8 thousand pig-nosed turtles (Carettochelys insculpta) confiscated at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to their natural habitat in Papua. During an inspection of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Agriculture Quarantine Agency on Thursday, Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan noted that the confiscated turtles will be firstly given recovery treatment before being returned to their natural habitat. "Once they have recovered, we will take them to their natural habitat in Papua," the Minister claimed. Previously, on Tuesday (Jan. 7), the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Agriculture Quarantine Agency foiled an attempt to smuggle as many as 2.8 thousand pig-nosed turtles, which were illegally brought from Jayapura to Jakarta, in a Garuda Indonesia airplane GIA 655. The turtles were packed in four bags and loaded into the plane's baggage area. According to Head of Jakarta's Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA) Awen Supranata, the bags were registered in the name of Ilham and Barmo of PT Freeport, while the recipient was Abdi Purnama, a resident of Plaza 89, 12th floor, Rasuna Said Road, Jakarta. Smuggling is estimated to cost the country Rp435 million or about US$36,250 worth of losses if one turtle is worth Rp150 thousand or US$12.5. Minister Zulkifli Hasan pointed out that the illegal trading of protected wildlife, such as the pangolin, turtle, sloth, and hornbill, were still rampant in the country. The animals were often sold at high prices to neighboring countries such as Hong Kong and China, for culinary and medicinal purposes, among others. Those found violating the government regulation on nature conservation will face imprisonment up to five years. (*)