Berliner Tageblatt - Mexican authorities rescue 3,400 trafficked baby turtles

NYSE - LSE
BCC 1.35% 77.14 $
NGG 0.34% 75.49 $
RIO 0.1% 94.56 $
RELX 0.03% 33.52 $
BCE -1.57% 20.97 $
GSK -0.83% 49.24 $
RBGPF -0.9% 65.4 $
CMSD -0.34% 20.3 $
CMSC -0.54% 20.4 $
RYCEF -1.86% 19.31 $
BTI -0.7% 55.63 $
AZN 1.21% 166.58 $
JRI -1.36% 11.02 $
VOD 0.78% 16.62 $
BP -0.59% 44.15 $
Mexican authorities rescue 3,400 trafficked baby turtles
Mexican authorities rescue 3,400 trafficked baby turtles / Photo: © AFP

Mexican authorities rescue 3,400 trafficked baby turtles

Mexican authorities said Friday they had rescued over 3,400 protected baby turtles stuffed into cardboard boxes set to be trafficked.

Text size:

During a roadblock in the southern state of Chiapas, agents found the critters "in overcrowded conditions" in boxes in a vehicle whose driver was arrested on wildlife trafficking charges, the environmental protection prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The baby animals were freshwater Meso-American sliders, native to Mexico, Central America and Colombia.

They are protected in Mexico against overexploitation.

"The specimens were transported without documentation proving their legal origin, which constitutes a violation of environmental regulations," the prosecutor's office said.

The turtles were taken to a specialized unit for rehabilitation and to determine whether they can be released back into the wild.

S.Keller--BTB