Brown Roofed Turtle Rescued from Illegal Captivity at Hotel Following PETA India Complaint
After a video surfaced showing a Brown Roofed Turtle, a species protected under Schedule II of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972, unlawfully confined in a small tank, PETA India collaborated with the Gonda Forest Division to register a preliminary offence report (POR). The turtle has since been rescued and safely released at Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary in Gonda.
The turtle was confined at Bedi’s Dream Land Hotel & Resort on National Highway 27, near Saryu National Highway Bridge, Gonda – 271 319. The POR was registered on 25 November against the hotel manager and others under sections 9 and 51 of the WPA, 1972. The offence is punishable with a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to Rs. 1,00,000 or both.
Brown-roofed turtles are classified as “Near Threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. Because turtles are wild animals, when kept in homes, they typically are fed an unnatural or inappropriate diet and relegated to dingy tanks without any enrichment.
