Enforcement seizures reveal large-scale illegal trade in India's tortoises and freshwater turtles

Pet and turtle: DNA barcoding identified twelve Geoemydid species in northeast India

“…2007 ; Mendiratta et al. 2017 ). For example, many new Geoemydid species have been described from the food and pet markets in the last two decades (Kou 1989 ; Parham and Shi 2001 ) and the genetic data corroborated the presence of three non-native turtles in northeast India kept as pets (Kundu et al.…”

“…To assess the population structure of any species, researchers are not only concerned about the wild living individuals but also concerned about their threats estimation, records of enforcement seizures, pet trade etc. within and beyond their known geographical regions (Alacs et al 2007;Mendiratta et al 2017). For example, many new Geoemydid species have been described from the food and pet markets in the last two decades (Kou 1989;Parham and Shi 2001) and the genetic data corroborated the presence of three non-native turtles in northeast India kept as pets (Kundu et al 2016).…”

Making Messy Data Work for Conservation

“…47 Sometimes, with limited resources, there may be occasions when it is reasonable simply to use appropriate summaries of raw data without substantial processing to account for bias by acknowledging that biases are likely to be present and being cautious about their interpretation. 48,49 For example, Ingram et al 48 summarize available data on seizures of pangolin (Pholidota: Manidae) products while drawing attention to the differing availability of data from different sources and without drawing conclusions about the underlying processes.…”

A Northern River Terrapin (Batagur baska) from Kutch, with comments on the species’ distribution in western India and Pakistan

“…Reptiles, especially turtles and tortoises, are increasingly popular in the pet trade (e.g., Vyas 2012Vyas , 2015D'Cruze et al 2015;Mendiratta et al 2017). Conversations with locals, who are involved in such activities, elicited responses to questions like: "Is the pet trade prevalent in the region?"…”