Malagasy gendarmes intercepted a shipment of 868 turtles during a targeted control in Trahovano, a town in southern Madagascar. The smugglers were transporting their cargo in a 4×4 and were heading to Tulear where a plane was waiting for them.
The health crisis, drought, famine and misery are all factors that benefit trafficking of all kinds. The Malagasy wealth is coveted by all the unscrupulous foreign traffickers. Wednesday, December 29, 2021, it is a little more than 1:30 am when the gendarmes intercept a 4×4 in Trahovano. It comes from the region of Anosy where the star tortoises are supposed to be protected. Unfortunately, poachers are legion and nothing can stop them. Luckily, these reptiles are under the permanent surveillance of the Turtle Survival Alliance. It is the members of TSA who launched the alert, we learn Madagascar-Tribune.
According to the information collected by the investigators, the shipment was to be taken to Tulear. There, the buyers were to take them to Asia where star turtles sell for a fortune ($3 to $4,000). The 868 turtles were brought back to their reserve which they should never have left.
This operation allowed to save 868 turtles. This species has been on the red list of critically endangered species since 2008. This tragedy is due to trafficking, but also to the consumption of its flesh. Eating star tortoises in Madagascar is a cultural prohibition (fady), however with the famine, some barriers are breaking down.
Two of the three smugglers were arrested. They were referred to the public prosecutor’s office of Fort-Dauphin. They face 5 to 10 years in prison, writes La Vérité. These heavy sentences do not slow down the poachers, who have no other means of survival in a region that has been hit by Kéré for more than two years. In this extreme context, it is not surprising to see an increase in the number of interceptions. The question is, how much of this wealth (fauna, flora, minerals) passes through the ever-widening net?
