They capture a citizen who was carrying more than 2,000 turtles on a public transport bus

The Regional Autonomous Corporation of Quindio (CRQ) reported this Thursday, April 14, that they arrested a citizen who had 2,047 turtles on the road between Bosconia (César) and Tuluá (Valle del Cauca). The man was transporting the specimens on a public transport bus and was caught for the crime of wildlife trafficking.

José Manuel Cortés Orozco, director of the CRQ, commented that the animals were hycoteous turtles (trachemys callirostris). The judalization of the citizen “was the result of one of the checkpoints that our highway police have and that, thanks to the coordination with the Environmental Police and the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Quindío, we managed to seize these individuals of wildlife.”

The more than 2,000 specimens, which came from the Colombian Caribbean, are in the process of being evaluated to determine the state in which they are found. Afterwards, they will be transferred to one of the autonomous corporations on the Atlantic Coast “to be released back to their natural habitat,” Cortes added.

It should be recalled that the CRQ had already warned that the hocotea turtle is still consumed during Easter and that is why it has a higher risk of being trafficked this season. In fact, the Humboldt Institute pointed out that trachemys callirostris is one of the most trafficked animals along with the morrocoy turtle and the green iguana.

Faced with the risks of wildlife trafficking, CRQ established a series of operations to prevent the movement of animals. In Major Week, the staff of the environmental authority are working on two fronts:

The first has to do with operations and controls in conjunction with the National Army and the National Police to prevent the extraction of flora and fauna and the illegal trafficking of specimens such as the bud of Palma de Cera for last Palm Sunday.

The second front aims to implement the environmental education campaign: “A responsible tourist”. The entity's staff will be present in the municipalities of Salento, Finland and in the Rio Verde sector to raise awareness among visitors about the use of water, the use of solid waste and proper separation at the source.

Illegal wildlife trade moves between 20 and 40 billion euros a year

During the Second High-Level Conference of the Americas on the Illegal Trade in Wildlife, held in the department of Bolivar on April 6, the importance of advancing concrete actions to address wildlife trafficking was highlighted. The event was attended by the United Kingdom and different Latin American countries together with the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Carlos Eduardo Correa.

“The illegal trade in wildlife moves, annually, between 20 and 40 billion euros globally. This is one of the most profitable businesses on the planet and much of that wildlife traffic goes from our countries,” Correa said. The head of environmental portfolio called for action to address this scourge that today affects the planet's biodiversity.

Colombia has two tools to combat illegal wildlife trade and curb biodiversity loss: the Environmental Crimes Act, which criminalizes this crime with up to 12 years in prison, and Law 2153 of 2021, which created the Information, Registration and Monitoring System, which allows traffic control, prevention and avoidance illegal wildlife in Colombia.

According to the Ministry of Environment, in 2021, 18,636 individuals of fauna and 282,147 of flora were seized, representing 2,325 captures. The departments in which this illegal practice occurred the most were Cundinamarca, Santander, Cordoba, Antioquia, Sucre, Bolívar and Atlántico.

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