They rescued 487 hicotean turtles that would be consumed at Easter

At this time of year, the days before Holy Week, fish consumption increases in Colombian households, but in the same way, in some parts of the country it is customary to eat turtle meat from hicotea. This animal is in danger of extinction and, every year, when Major Week approaches, authorities and environmentalists agree to carry out campaigns to prevent Colombians from consuming this animal.

Despite the sanctions announced this year, shipments of hoteous turtles have recently been seized in different areas of the country. The most recent, as Blu Radio learned, took place in the department of Córdoba, the authorities seized 487 hoteous turtles that were going to be slaughtered during Holy Week, which were illegally transported by five people who will now have to answer to the authorities.

According to the authorities who managed to capture these persons, the vehicle was stopped at a checkpoint, where the nervousness of the people anticipated that there was an illegal cargo inside the car. Indeed, when they checked the bags and portable coolers carried by the five men, they found the almost 500 turtles in terrible condition.

While the men were placed at the disposal of the competent authorities, the animals were handed over to the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Sinu and San Jorge Valleys' CVS 'in the city of Monteria, where they will remain in quarantine until they can be returned to their natural habitat.

So far in 2022, according to the environmental authorities of Córdoba, 68 catches have been made by wildlife trafficking, especially by hoteous turtles, iguanas, sloths and birds. In the same way, in these operations, more than 1,040 hicotean turtles were seized and recovered.

In this regard, the commander of the Córdoba Police, Colonel Gabriel Bonilla, explained that “we have found cases where they put the mortgages in bags and in cellars without any consideration, to transport them for later sale and consumption”, as quoted by the local newspaper La Razón.

He recalled that the criminalization of article 328 of Law 599 of 2000 describes this crime as the illicit use of renewable natural resources and that those who are captured face prison sentences ranging from 5 to 11 years.

In the same way, Caracol Radio learned that in Cartagena, the Environmental and Ecological Protection Group of the Metropolitan Police carried out several operations in the city, accompanied by Carabineros Police units, the National Model of Community Surveillance by Quadrants and personnel of the Available Force, to combat the commercialization of wild animal meat, including that of the hicotea turtle, popular for this season.

The operations were carried out in the Bazurto market and there they found that there were more than 10 kilograms of hicotea and turtle meat that were ready to be prepared in a restaurant in the market. At the same time, the authorities carried out awareness-raising efforts with customers and traders, reminding them that the consumption and marketing of this animal is against environmental regulations imposed throughout the country, so they could be punished for committing a crime.

On this, for example, the Administrative Department for Environmental Management, Dagma, has spoken. It should be recalled that, for the first quarter of 2022, the entity carried out 206 sanctioning proceedings against people who fail to comply with the trafficking and marketing of different species of fauna and flora in the country that are protected, which ended in fines representing $5,720,311,849, as confirmed by the Mayor's Office of Cali.

Sanctions in Cali and throughout the country continue to advance, and at this time the Dagma Sub-Directorate of Environmental Quality indicated that they will strengthen operations to counteract the commercialization of wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense) and the hocotea turtle (Trachemys callirostris), both of which increase considerably before Easter, despite the rules.

KEEP READING: