Tons of turtles saved from the cooking pot

Unfortunatly only to die at the hands of their "rescuers"

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Hanoi - Six tons of turtles have been seized at an airport in Vietnam, the latest in a string of wildlife smuggling cases from Malaysia, a customs official said on Tuesday.

The turtles came into Vietnam last Monday from Kuala Lumpur on a Thai Airways flight, but only 1 800 of the 4 159 turtles were declared on the freight bill, said the customs official, who declined to be named.

The five different turtle species were kept at the airport for a week, and around 80 percent of them have since died, the official said.

The turtles were moved to Hanoi's Wildlife Rescue Centre where the dead turtles were burned to prevent pollution and spreading disease, said Pham Hieu, an attendant at the centre.

The turtles were bound for the Thanh Loi Company in the northern province of Lang Son, and the company will be fined for falsely declaring the amount, the customs official said.

The turtles were destined for the cooking pot, as the reptile is considered a delicacy in Vietnam.

In the past month, Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport has been a hotbed of illegal wildlife smuggling. Officials also seized two tons of illegally smuggled iguanas and 3,5 tons of endangered pangolins since the beginning of March.

Since then, 70 percent of the iguanas and pangolins have died at the rescue centre, an attendant said. - Sapa-DPA

As reported in Independant Online, South Africa

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