An analysis of illegal trade of non-marine turtles in West Bengal, India: Study based on a seven-year confiscation scenario

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Its portrayal in the news media and other secondary sources provides a perspective on understanding what drives it, its effects and public involvement, helping in the identification of illegal trade lines. We used 133 confiscation reports from West Bengal, occurring between January 2017 and December 2023, as a case study on the confiscation scenario from various online news sources and from Forest Department reports. We identified seizure of 33,317 NMTs, belonging to nine species, six of which are threatened and one near-threatened. Lissemys punctata was the most commonly traded species accounting for 94% of the identified seized individuals and Geochelone elegans comprised 5% of the traded individuals. NMTs were seized from 15 districts of West Bengal, with North 24 Parganas found to be a hotspot accounting for 57% of confiscations. The supply chain of soft-shell turtles extended beyond West Bengal to Uttar Pradesh (50%) and Odisha (25%), whereas star tortoises were exclusively smuggled from Tamil Nadu. Additionally, we found 349 kg of body parts were seized. All confiscated materials were meant either for domestic consumption or for illegal international trade through Bangladesh. Significantly more confiscations were recorded during the winter (H = -11.429, p < 0.001) and throughout COVID-19 pandemics illegal trading remained high, with an increase in the involvement of women. West Bengal become a significant hub for the illegal trade of NMTs, with North 24 Parganas district as its epicentre which needs more conservation attention. Freshwater turtles Media portrayal South Asia Turtle seizures Wildlife crime Wildlife trade Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Introduction Non marine turtles (NMTs) are the most commonly trafficked group of animals among illegally traded wildlife (Rosen and Smith 2010 ; Auliya et al. 2016 ) and are the taxa that suffer significantly from unrestricted trade causing the biggest threat to the majority of Asian turtle species (Cheung and Dudgeon 2006 ; Rhodin et al. 2018 ; Stanford et al. 2020 ). They are traded for a variety of purposes such as consumption, traditional medicine and as pets (Shepherd et al. 2020 ). A vast and developing market is present in East and Southeast Asia for the trading of NMTs (Chen et al. 2009 ; Harrison et al. 2016 ). Consequently over 50% of Asian NMTs are presently facing the threat of extinction even though are protected under national acts or being included in the CITES Appendices. With the evidence of both illicit domestic and international trade of NMTs, India holds a significant impact in addressing this ongoing Asian turtle crisis (Mendiratta et al. 2017 ). India, a megadiversity country, holds the sixth position in terms of freshwater turtle & tortoise richness with the lower Gangetic plain being recognized as a turtle diversity hotspot (Buhlmann et al. 2009 ; Mittermeier et al. 2015 ). Over 78% (22 species) of Indian NMTs are categorized as Threatened in the IUCN (Mendiratta et al. 2017 ). All these species are protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 of India (WPAI). As such harvesting and trading of these species as live, dead or their body parts are punishable offenses. There has long been an illegal commercial trade in Indian NMTs, despite the fact that native turtle species are not permitted to be harvested or trafficked under WPAI (Bhupathy et al. 2014 ; Mendiratta et al. 2017 ). More than 11,000 NMTs were illegally traded in India every year from September 2009 to September 2019 (Badola et al. 2019 ) and more than half (54%) of the Indian NMTs have been traded illegally (Mendiratta et al. 2017 ). Soft-shell turtles (family Trionychidae) are primarily hunted and traded for their meat (Krishnakumar et al. 2009 ) whereas hard-shell turtles (family Geoemydidae) and tortoises (family Testudinidae) harvested in India are trafficked largely for commercial pet markets in Southeast Asia and China (D'Cruze et al. 2015 ; Leupen 2018 ). Three major trade routes are known to exist in India and one of the most active and popular is from Kolkata to Bangladesh and other Asian countries (Bhupathy et al. 2000 ). Despite being a well-known turtle trade route and a part of the Gangetic plain in the Kolkata zone and West Bengal there is no scientific data regarding the turtle trade or turtle seizure. Under this backdrop the present investigation was undertaken to identify the species of NMTs which are seized, their frequency, number, trading hubs, routes and trade network in West Bengal on the basis of information collected through social media, news report and official documents for past seven years, 2017–2023. Materials and Methods A thorough search was undertaken of online bulletins for seizures information of NMTs from West Bengal between January 2017 and December 2023, utilizing the Google search engine. Variety of sources, including published literature, online media reports, blog posts, YouTube videos and other social media platforms and records from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) using active searches to find reports of NMTs confiscations were explored. Additionally, during the specified period, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Eastern Region was visited along with several Divisional Forest Offices (DFO) and Range Offices, for collection of data on seized turtles. In google search engine, the terms like ‘Confiscated turtle’, ‘turtle seizure’, ‘confiscated tortoise’, ‘tortoise seizure’, ‘wildlife trade’, ‘turtle poaching’ and ‘tortoise poaching’ in West Bengal were utilized which are frequently associated with NMTs seizures. Moreover, searches for seizures were also conducted in Bengali language (search terms: ‘ kochop bajeapto ’, ‘ kochop kenabecha ’, ‘ bonnoprani bajeapto ’ in Paschim Bongo ). Reports written in English language and reports translated from the Bengali language into English were kept for further scrutiny. All reported seizures were carefully checked to avoid duplication. Whenever contradictory data were encountered in reports on the same seizure from different sources, the most comprehensive data sources were accepted for further analysis. Essential details from each record were extracted, such as the date and location of seizure, species seize, type of commodity (live or dead animals, meat or body parts), product quantity (number or kilogram), the intended purpose of trade (meat, pet, or traditional medicine) and the routes of trafficking if available. Furthermore, to record the exact location of each seizure, meticulously documented additional particulars, regarding the confiscation such as, whether it occurred during harvesting, transportation (via air, railway or road), or in pet stores, warehouses, markets and the like. Animals seized from public transport, pet stores, warehouses or markets were classified as part of the commercial trade, whereas seizures of materials for subsistence purposes were categorized as non-commercial. In cases where species identity could not be confirmed, it was designated as ‘Unidentified’. From the seizure records sources of origin and site of poaching particularly in West Bengal were compiled. Data on the geographic locations of the confiscation and their collection points were utilized to generate maps illustrating trading hubs and routes. Arc GIS 10.8.2 software was employed for analyzing and plotting the collected data and illustration of results were done using MS Excel 2019. Statistical analyses of data were done by SPSS-26. Results Between January 2017 to December 2023, 133 confiscation reports of NMTs involving West Bengal were obtained and analysed which accounted for seizures of at least 33,317 individuals of NMTs belonging to nine species. 1666 turtles were dead and 420 could not be identified due to incomplete parts (Table 1 ). The highest number of confiscations was recorded during 2017 and lowest during 2018 (Fig. 1 ). Lissemys punctata (Bonnaterre, 1789) was the most frequently confiscated turtle which accounted for 93.87% of the identified NMTs (Table 1 ). This was followed by Geochelone elegans Schoepff, 1795 which comprised 5.20% of the identified NMTs. Remaining seven species made up less than 1% of the identified NMTs. Interestingly one individual of Trachemys scripta elegans (Wied-Neuwied, 1839) was also confiscated from Siliguri which is not native to India. Of the nine confiscated species three viz., Nilssonia gangetica (Cuvier, 1825), N. hurum (Gray, 1831) and Chitra indica (Gray, 1831) are Endangered, three viz., L. punctata , Pangshura tecta (Gray, 1831) and G. elegans are Vulnerable and Pangshura smithii (Gray, 1863) is Near Threatened as per IUCN Red List (Table 2 ). Table 1 NMTs confiscated in West Bengal in between January, 2017 and December, 2023 Name of the species No. of traded individuals Percentage (%) of identified species 1. Lissemys punctata 30872 93.84% 2. Geochelone elegans 1712 5.20% 3. Nilssonia gangetica 268 0.81% 4. Nilssonia hurum 36 0.11% 5. Pangshura tentoria 1 0.003% 6. Pangshura tecta 3 0.009% 7. Chitra indica 2 0.006% 8. Pangshura smithii 2 0.006% 9. Trachemys scripta elegans 1 0.003% Total identified 32897 Unidentified 420 Total 33,317 Table 2 IUCN, CITES and WPAI status of confiscated species. No. Family Species Name Common Name Native Country IUCN Red List Category CITES Appendix WPA Schedule 1. Trionychidae Lissemys punctata Indian Flapshell Turtle India Vulnerable II I 2. Nilssonia gangetica Gangetic Softshell Turtle India Endangered I I 3. Nilssonia hurum Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle India Endangered I I 4. Chitra indica Indian Narrow Headed Softshell Turtle India Endangered II IV 5. Geoemydidae Pangshura tentoria Indian Tent Turtle India Least Concern II I 6. Pangshura tecta Indian Roofed Turtle India Vulnerable I I 7. Pangshura smithii Brown roofed turtle India Near Threatened II IV 8. Testudinidae Geochelone elegans Indian Star Tortoise India Vulnerable II IV 9. Emydidae Trachemys scripta elegans Red-eared slider North America Least Concern NA NA All the NMTs were confiscated from sources and locations such as market, fish carrying vehicles, rail stations, bus terminals and trucks where those were stored clandestinely. Interestingly in one instance two L. punctata were seized from a pandal of Goddess Durga where those were displayed as non-commercial items. Majority of the confiscated wild turtles were imported to West Bengal from different states of India (Fig. 2 ). Uttar Pradesh accounted for most of the identified imports (55%) followed by Odisha (25%) and Tamil Nadu (10%) in that order. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat together accounted for the remaining 10% of the identified source (Table 3 ). As per records all the confiscated tortoises in West Bengal had their origin in South Indian state Tamil Nadu. 86.47% of the seizures in West Bengal were from the lower Gangetic plain and more than 67% of those were from the districts sharing international border with Bangladesh (Fig. 3 ). These regions are widely recognized as global hotspots for NMTs diversity. Seizures were reported across 15 districts in West Bengal. North 24 Parganas district accounted for over half (57.14%) of the incidents (Fig. 4 ). Kruskal-Wallis test revealed a significant difference in the number of confiscated turtles among the 15 districts (H = 40.651, p < 0.001) and Pairwise comparisons revealed that North 24 Parganas district accounted for significantly higher confiscation as compared to other districts (Fig. 5 ). 59.26% of seizures were of NMTs consignment in transit by road (38.89%) and rail (20.37%). Remaining 40.74% were confiscated from market, residential house, hotel or warehouses. Of the 17 consignments confiscated in transit 14 were destined to Bangladesh two to Thailand and one to Malaysia (Fig. 2 ). Three encounters, one each in Kaliachak (Malda district), Bangaon (North 24 Parganas district) and Gangarampur (Dakshin Dinajpur district) resulted in the confiscation of a total of 349 kg of turtles body parts, intercepted while being smuggled to Bangladesh (Supplementary Information). Kruskal-Wallis test revealed a significant difference in the number of confiscated turtles across different seasons (H = 11.896, p < 0.003) and pairwise comparisons indicated that the number of confiscations was significantly higher in the winter season (H = -11.429, p < 0.001) (Fig. 6 ). Both men and women were involved in the trafficking of turtles. In 2020 more persons, particularly women, were involved in turtle trafficking in comparison to other years (Fig. 7 ). Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant decline in confiscations in between 2017 and 2018. There after it increased and maintained a steady rate during pandemic period (Fig. 1 ). Table 3 Number and percentage of turtles illegally entering in West Bengal from different States of India Source State Number of identified Source Percentage (%) of identified Source Uttar Pradesh 22 55.00% Tamil Nadu 4 10.00% Andhra Pradesh 1 2.50% Gujarat 1 2.50% Orissa 10 25.00% Bihar 2 5.00% Identified Source 40 Unidentified Source 93 Total 133 Discussions The lower Gangetic plain has been recognized as a priority area of turtles (Mittermeier et al. 2015 ) and has emerged as a significant hub for the illegal trade and national and international turtle trafficking route and market (Fig. 2 , 3 , 8 ) in the present study. Their demand as food, traditional medication, ornamental value and as pets, has accelerated the decline and extinction of over half of the known species of NMTs (Stanford et al. 2020 ), yet the phenomenon has got little attention and remained poorly understood (Stengel et al. 2011 ; Stanford et al. 2020 ). Mendiratta et al. ( 2017 ) reported 223 instances involving seizure of 58,442 live NMTs in India during a period of five years (2011–2015). Sengottuvel et al. ( 2024 ) documented 268 instances of illegal trade of NMTs in India over a span of seven years (2013–2019) which accounted for seizes of 74000 live or dead individuals. In the present study West Bengal alone accounted for 133 confiscation reports accounting for seizure of 33,317 individuals which belonged to nine species, six threatened and one near threatened. This is more than half of the numbers of species illegally trafficked from India as Mendiratta et al. ( 2017 ) reported confiscation of a total of 15 species of NMTs in India. Since in the present study about 94% of the identified seized turtles were edible L. punctata it may be inferred beyond doubt that those were being trafficked for meat trade. This species is currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (IUCN 2024 ), protected under Schedule I of the WPAI and is widely harvested and trafficked for its meat and supposed medicinal value in India and at international market (Das 1991 ; Choudhury et al. 2000 ; Krishnakumar et al. 2009 ; Bhupathy et al. 2014 ; Mendiratta et al. 2017 ; Mandal et al. 2024 ). It is now the most preferred traded species potentially due to its non-aggressive behavior, small size and traditional utility. It might experience a fate similar to Batagur baska (Gray, 1830) which was once abundant in the mangroves of West Bengal and Odisha. Being the most palatable of all the turtles it was over harvested and exploited (Moll et al. 2009 ). Currently this species is enlisted as Critically Endangered in IUCN Red List (IUCN 2024 ) being limited to Sundarban area and suspected to have gone extirpated from Odisha (Mallick et al. 2021 ). Under this context conservation of L. punctata should be taken up on the priority basis. G. elegans , which accounted for over 5% of the total identified seizures, on the contrary, appear to be being trafficked as pet trade. Thus it is also clearly evident that West Bengal has become a major meat trading hub rather than a pet trading. Approximately 150 kg of turtle meat are traded daily in local fish markets of Purba and Paschim Medinipur districts (Bindra, 2023 ). Moreover Mandal et al. ( 2024 ) have also reported that L. puncata are clandestinely harvested and sold in Paschim Medinipur district for meat. It was also found that bulk of the supply of soft-shell turtle in West Bengal came from Uttar Pradesh (50%) and Odisha (25%). Sengottuvel et al. ( 2024 ) also opined that Uttar Pradesh is the primary supplier of the soft-shelled turtles for rest of India. Indian star tortoise was smuggled exclusively in West Bengal from Tamil Nadu. It appears that the smuggling route of this species is currently shifting. Once commonly trafficked through Chennai (Sengottuvel et al. 2024 ) it is now rerouted from Chennai to Kolkata and subsequently to Malayasia either directly or via Bangladesh most likely due to increase detection risk in Chennai as pointed out by Stoner and Shepherd ( 2020 ). In West Bengal, North 24 Parganas is the chief hub of illegal trading accounting for 57.14% of seizures. Sengottuvel et al. ( 2024 ) also highlighted that North 24 Parganas emerged as a soft-shell turtle trafficking hub because this district of West Bengal shares 280 km of international border with Bangladesh. Other important trafficking centres are Paschim and Purba Medinipur districts, Howrah, South 24 parganas and Kolkata districts. Primary methods of entry in West Bengal in earlier days used to be by road (Choudhury and Bhupathy 1993 ). Present study also revealed that this holds good even now. Railway is also an easy route of entry due to lack of trained personnel at entry and exit points (Shepherd et al. 2007 ) coupled with inadequate scanning equipment at railway stations (Emogor et al. 2021 ). Significantly more turtles were confiscated during winter season. This might be due to higher demand in winter which coincides with the festive season in West Bengal. Moreover, being cold blooded these are easy to be captured in winter, hibernating in shallow water due to their low metabolic rate and activity level (Litzgus and Hopkins 2003 ). Perhaps due to the lack of alternative sources of income during lock down and covid pandemic a high level of involvement in turtle trafficking has been recorded with increased participation of women during that period. In contrast Badola ( 2020 ) reported a remarkable decrease in poaching cases of NMTs in India during the lockdown period even though the total number of wildlife poaching cases more than doubled between pre-lockdown and lockdown periods. Pragatheesh et al. ( 2021 ) reported that between April 2018 to March 2020 Red-eared slider was traded in large quantities in India and these turtles were sold at very low prices (₹30 to ₹40 per individual) due to high availability, better survival rate and small size suitable for clandestine transporting. This species, a native to the Mississippi River in the United States, is now an invasive species in 75 countries or overseas territories (Vyas 2019 ) and has garnered recognition as one of the top 100 worst invasive species worldwide due to the proliferation, prompting recommendations against their release outside their native range or into natural environments (Dupuis-Desormeaux et al. 2022 ). In India Red-eared Slider has also been reported from Gujarat, Karnataka, West Bengal, Punjab, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, and Goa (Chaudhuri et al. 2018 ; Jadhav et al. 2018 ; Vyas 2019 ) and predates on native turtle species (Vyas 2020 ). Even though just one instance in the present study of this non-native turtle trafficking was recorded, the presence of T.s. elegans might have a profoundly destructive impact on the ecosystem. A notable instance of such impact occurred in Rajarhat wetland near Kolkata, West Bengal, as documented by Chaudhuri et al. ( 2018 ), possibly as a result of illegal pet trading. Trafficking of turtle body parts, carapace and plastron, to meet the expanding traditional medicine demand in South East Asia and China has been previously reported by Compton ( 2000 ), Sundar ( 2004 ), Chen et al. ( 2009 ), Das and Singh ( 2009 ). Present study also recorded three seizures amounting to 349 kg of body parts. Confiscation of body parts, however, is far more difficult as compared to live specimen and demands better skill and understanding of the problem which is crucial for thwarting of illegal trade. Conclusion Present study unequivocally indicates that West Bengal serves as a significant hub for the illegal trade of NMTs, with North 24 Parganas district as an epicentre. As such enhanced anti-poaching measures are imperative in West Bengal, encompassing advanced poacher identification techniques such as employing patrol dogs, conducting efficient searches in train, rail stations and airports using modern devices and quick response enforcement strategies implemented elsewhere to deter poaching. It is crucial to note that many of the live turtles are often released into the local water bodies. Such action could potentially have detrimental effects on the ecosystem. It is essential to establish adequate infrastructure for housing confiscated turtles and rehabilitating those. Authorities must conduct thorough assessment of the health and source of the origin of the confiscated individuals before releasing these to mitigate the risks of disease transmission, disruption of population genetics and adverse effects on local biodiversity. Unless harvesting for illegal trafficking is stopped extinction of the turtle species in the wild is imperative. Even if the trafficking is substantially controlled population decline cannot be prevented unless there is thorough monitoring. Declarations Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interests. Funding The authors declare that no funds or grants were received during the preparation of this manuscript. Author Contribution All enlisted authors have collaborated in developing and designing the manuscript. Drafting of initial manuscript, data collection, visualization and analyses were done by PM with the guidance of PHM. Final shape to the manuscript along with technical guidance was given by TB. All authors have carefully gone through the final manuscript and approved it. Acknowledgments The authors express their gratitude to the Vice Chancellor of Vidyasagar University for providing necessary facilities. They also like to extend their appreciation to West Bengal Forest department for official authorization to access turtle seizure data from different forest offices [Memo No. 2921(2)/WL/4R-11 (Pt-XVIII)/2023]. Prasun Mandal acknowledges CSIR, New Delhi, for their financial support in the form of a fellowship (Ref. No: 16/06/2019(i) EU-V). Data Availability All data are available in supplementary material. References Auliya M, Altherr S, Ariano-sanchez D, Baard EH, Brown C, Brown RM, Cantu JC, Gentile G, Gildenhuys P, Henningheim E, Hintzmann J, Kanari K, Krvavac M, Lettink M, Lippert J, Luiselli L, Nilson G, Nguyen TQ, Nijman V, Parham JF, Ziegler T (2016) Trade in live reptiles, its impact on wild populations, and the role of the European market. 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Global Ecology and Conservation 24:e01249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01249 Stanford CB, Iverson JB, Rhodin AG, van Dijk PP, Mittermeier RA, Kuchling G, Berry KH, Bertolero A, Bjorndal KA, Blanck TE, Buhlmann KA, Burke RL, Congdon JD, Diagne T, Edwards T, Eisemberg CC, Ennen JR, Forero-Medina G, Frankel M, Fritz U, Gallego-García N, Georges A, Gibbons JW, Gong S, Goode EV, Shi HT, Hoang H, Hofmeyr MD, Horne BD, Hudson R, Juvik JO, Kiester RA, Koval P, Le M, Lindeman PV, Lovich JE, Luiselli L, McCormack TE, Meyer GA, Páez VP, Platt K, Platt SG, Pritchard PC, Quinn HR, Roosenburg WM, Seminoff JA, Shaffer JB, Spencer R, Van Dyke JU, Vogt RC, Walde AD (2020) Turtles and tortoises are in trouble. Current Biology 30(12):721-735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.088. Stengel CJ, Shepherd CR, Caillabet OS, (2011) The trade in tortoises and freshwater turtles in Jakarta revisited. TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Stoner SS, Shepherd C (2020) Using intelligence to tackle the criminal elements of the illegal trade in Indian star tortoises Geochelone elegans in Asia. Global Ecology and Conservation 23(2):e01097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01097 Sundar KG (2004) From a poacher's bag: Patterns of exploitation of Lissemys punctata andersoni in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India. Turtle and Tortoise Newsletter 8:18-19. Vyas R (2019) Distribution of Invasive Red-eared Sliders, Trachemys scripta (Testudines: Emydidae) in the wetlands of Gujarat State, India. Reptiles & Amphibians 26(2):145–150. Vyas R (2020) A Captive Study of Interactions between the Invasive Red-eared Slider, Trachemys scripta elegans (Wied 1838), and native Indian turtles. Reptiles & Amphibia 27(2):318–323. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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° = outlier, * = extreme outlier\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4812000/v1/c8956b0eabeba2d59cd43528.png"},{"id":64005871,"identity":"367bce8b-919c-48e1-a99d-34e727cbd764","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-04 21:42:25","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":53591,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eNumber of turtles confiscated during different season; ° = outlier\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4812000/v1/0a815a47ce3b877e29deccfd.png"},{"id":64005877,"identity":"a2f4c869-873b-488d-91cc-8fb21a5ff269","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-04 21:42:25","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":46174,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eGender wise accused person involved in turtle trafficking\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4812000/v1/0064d3dcee6a17d3bdb0f64d.png"},{"id":64006400,"identity":"0c963d83-2e00-4d45-9c35-9fa963c538a0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-04 21:50:25","extension":"png","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":290616,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eRegions of turtle confiscation, ranging from low to high, across the districts of West Bengal\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure8.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4812000/v1/680ab31c30eaed1737631b74.png"},{"id":64125419,"identity":"5e90d02e-713c-43cd-946b-d3316bfc7730","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-08 01:16:38","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1550013,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4812000/v1/d97b1c27-7cc6-4c54-9c52-9f012d693d74.pdf"},{"id":64006398,"identity":"4333b91f-70c5-4843-aaf9-179c75486f05","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-04 21:50:25","extension":"xlsx","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":41866,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Supplymentarymaterial.xlsx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4812000/v1/a609df0aa6a82d8032c2aa98.xlsx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"An analysis of illegal trade of non-marine turtles in West Bengal, India: Study based on a seven-year confiscation scenario","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eNon marine turtles (NMTs) are the most commonly trafficked group of animals among illegally traded wildlife (Rosen and Smith \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Auliya et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e) and are the taxa that suffer significantly from unrestricted trade causing the biggest threat to the majority of Asian turtle species (Cheung and Dudgeon \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Rhodin et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Stanford et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). They are traded for a variety of purposes such as consumption, traditional medicine and as pets (Shepherd et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). A vast and developing market is present in East and Southeast Asia for the trading of NMTs (Chen et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Harrison et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). Consequently over 50% of Asian NMTs are presently facing the threat of extinction even though are protected under national acts or being included in the CITES Appendices. With the evidence of both illicit domestic and international trade of NMTs, India holds a significant impact in addressing this ongoing Asian turtle crisis (Mendiratta et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndia, a megadiversity country, holds the sixth position in terms of freshwater turtle \u0026amp; tortoise richness with the lower Gangetic plain being recognized as a turtle diversity hotspot (Buhlmann et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Mittermeier et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Over 78% (22 species) of Indian NMTs are categorized as Threatened in the IUCN (Mendiratta et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). All these species are protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 of India (WPAI). As such harvesting and trading of these species as live, dead or their body parts are punishable offenses. There has long been an illegal commercial trade in Indian NMTs, despite the fact that native turtle species are not permitted to be harvested or trafficked under WPAI (Bhupathy et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Mendiratta et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). More than 11,000 NMTs were illegally traded in India every year from September 2009 to September 2019 (Badola et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and more than half (54%) of the Indian NMTs have been traded illegally (Mendiratta et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSoft-shell turtles (family Trionychidae) are primarily hunted and traded for their meat (Krishnakumar et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e) whereas hard-shell turtles (family Geoemydidae) and tortoises (family Testudinidae) harvested in India are trafficked largely for commercial pet markets in Southeast Asia and China (D'Cruze et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Leupen \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Three major trade routes are known to exist in India and one of the most active and popular is from Kolkata to Bangladesh and other Asian countries (Bhupathy et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). Despite being a well-known turtle trade route and a part of the Gangetic plain in the Kolkata zone and West Bengal there is no scientific data regarding the turtle trade or turtle seizure. Under this backdrop the present investigation was undertaken to identify the species of NMTs which are seized, their frequency, number, trading hubs, routes and trade network in West Bengal on the basis of information collected through social media, news report and official documents for past seven years, 2017\u0026ndash;2023.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003eA thorough search was undertaken of online bulletins for seizures information of NMTs from West Bengal between January 2017 and December 2023, utilizing the Google search engine. Variety of sources, including published literature, online media reports, blog posts, YouTube videos and other social media platforms and records from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) using active searches to find reports of NMTs confiscations were explored. Additionally, during the specified period, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Eastern Region was visited along with several Divisional Forest Offices (DFO) and Range Offices, for collection of data on seized turtles. In google search engine, the terms like \u0026lsquo;Confiscated turtle\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;turtle seizure\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;confiscated tortoise\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;tortoise seizure\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;wildlife trade\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;turtle poaching\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;tortoise poaching\u0026rsquo; in West Bengal were utilized which are frequently associated with NMTs seizures. Moreover, searches for seizures were also conducted in Bengali language (search terms: \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003ekochop bajeapto\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003ekochop kenabecha\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003ebonnoprani bajeapto\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo; \u003cem\u003ein Paschim Bongo\u003c/em\u003e). Reports written in English language and reports translated from the Bengali language into English were kept for further scrutiny. All reported seizures were carefully checked to avoid duplication. Whenever contradictory data were encountered in reports on the same seizure from different sources, the most comprehensive data sources were accepted for further analysis. Essential details from each record were extracted, such as the date and location of seizure, species seize, type of commodity (live or dead animals, meat or body parts), product quantity (number or kilogram), the intended purpose of trade (meat, pet, or traditional medicine) and the routes of trafficking if available. Furthermore, to record the exact location of each seizure, meticulously documented additional particulars, regarding the confiscation such as, whether it occurred during harvesting, transportation (via air, railway or road), or in pet stores, warehouses, markets and the like. Animals seized from public transport, pet stores, warehouses or markets were classified as part of the commercial trade, whereas seizures of materials for subsistence purposes were categorized as non-commercial. In cases where species identity could not be confirmed, it was designated as \u0026lsquo;Unidentified\u0026rsquo;. From the seizure records sources of origin and site of poaching particularly in West Bengal were compiled. Data on the geographic locations of the confiscation and their collection points were utilized to generate maps illustrating trading hubs and routes. Arc GIS 10.8.2 software was employed for analyzing and plotting the collected data and illustration of results were done using MS Excel 2019. Statistical analyses of data were done by SPSS-26.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eBetween January 2017 to December 2023, 133 confiscation reports of NMTs involving West Bengal were obtained and analysed which accounted for seizures of at least 33,317 individuals of NMTs belonging to nine species. 1666 turtles were dead and 420 could not be identified due to incomplete parts (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). The highest number of confiscations was recorded during 2017 and lowest during 2018 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). \u003cem\u003eLissemys punctata\u003c/em\u003e (Bonnaterre, 1789) was the most frequently confiscated turtle which accounted for 93.87% of the identified NMTs (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). This was followed by \u003cem\u003eGeochelone elegans\u003c/em\u003e Schoepff, 1795 which comprised 5.20% of the identified NMTs. Remaining seven species made up less than 1% of the identified NMTs. Interestingly one individual of \u003cem\u003eTrachemys scripta elegans\u003c/em\u003e (Wied-Neuwied, 1839) was also confiscated from Siliguri which is not native to India. Of the nine confiscated species three viz., \u003cem\u003eNilssonia gangetica\u003c/em\u003e (Cuvier, 1825), \u003cem\u003eN. hurum\u003c/em\u003e (Gray, 1831) and \u003cem\u003eChitra indica\u003c/em\u003e (Gray, 1831) are Endangered, three viz., \u003cem\u003eL. punctata\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePangshura tecta\u003c/em\u003e (Gray, 1831) and \u003cem\u003eG. elegans\u003c/em\u003e are Vulnerable and \u003cem\u003ePangshura smithii\u003c/em\u003e (Gray, 1863) is Near Threatened as per IUCN Red List (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNMTs confiscated in West Bengal in between January, 2017 and December, 2023\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eName of the species\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo. of traded individuals\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage (%) of identified species\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. \u003cem\u003eLissemys punctata\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30872\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93.84%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. \u003cem\u003eGeochelone elegans\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1712\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.20%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. \u003cem\u003eNilssonia gangetica\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e268\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.81%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. \u003cem\u003eNilssonia hurum\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.11%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5. \u003cem\u003ePangshura tentoria\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6. \u003cem\u003ePangshura tecta\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.009%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7. \u003cem\u003eChitra indica\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.006%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8. \u003cem\u003ePangshura smithii\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.006%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9. \u003cem\u003eTrachemys scripta elegans\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal identified\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32897\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnidentified\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e420\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33,317\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIUCN, CITES and WPAI status of confiscated species.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpecies Name\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon Name\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNative Country\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIUCN Red List Category\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCITES Appendix\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWPA\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSchedule\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrionychidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLissemys punctata\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndian Flapshell Turtle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndia\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVulnerable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eII\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNilssonia gangetica\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGangetic Softshell Turtle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndia\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEndangered\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNilssonia hurum\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndian Peacock Softshell Turtle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndia\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEndangered\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eChitra indica\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndian Narrow Headed Softshell Turtle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndia\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEndangered\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eII\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGeoemydidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePangshura tentoria\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndian Tent Turtle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndia\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLeast Concern\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eII\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePangshura tecta\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndian Roofed Turtle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndia\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVulnerable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePangshura smithii\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrown roofed turtle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndia\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNear Threatened\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eII\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTestudinidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGeochelone elegans\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndian Star Tortoise\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndia\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVulnerable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eII\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmydidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTrachemys scripta elegans\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRed-eared slider\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNorth America\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLeast Concern\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll the NMTs were confiscated from sources and locations such as market, fish carrying vehicles, rail stations, bus terminals and trucks where those were stored clandestinely. Interestingly in one instance two \u003cem\u003eL. punctata\u003c/em\u003e were seized from a pandal of Goddess Durga where those were displayed as non-commercial items. Majority of the confiscated wild turtles were imported to West Bengal from different states of India (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Uttar Pradesh accounted for most of the identified imports (55%) followed by Odisha (25%) and Tamil Nadu (10%) in that order. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat together accounted for the remaining 10% of the identified source (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). As per records all the confiscated tortoises in West Bengal had their origin in South Indian state Tamil Nadu. 86.47% of the seizures in West Bengal were from the lower Gangetic plain and more than 67% of those were from the districts sharing international border with Bangladesh (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). These regions are widely recognized as global hotspots for NMTs diversity. Seizures were reported across 15 districts in West Bengal. North 24 Parganas district accounted for over half (57.14%) of the incidents (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). Kruskal-Wallis test revealed a significant difference in the number of confiscated turtles among the 15 districts (H\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;40.651, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and Pairwise comparisons revealed that North 24 Parganas district accounted for significantly higher confiscation as compared to other districts (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). 59.26% of seizures were of NMTs consignment in transit by road (38.89%) and rail (20.37%). Remaining 40.74% were confiscated from market, residential house, hotel or warehouses. Of the 17 consignments confiscated in transit 14 were destined to Bangladesh two to Thailand and one to Malaysia (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Three encounters, one each in Kaliachak (Malda district), Bangaon (North 24 Parganas district) and Gangarampur (Dakshin Dinajpur district) resulted in the confiscation of a total of 349 kg of turtles body parts, intercepted while being smuggled to Bangladesh (Supplementary Information). Kruskal-Wallis test revealed a significant difference in the number of confiscated turtles across different seasons (H\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;11.896, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.003) and pairwise comparisons indicated that the number of confiscations was significantly higher in the winter season (H = -11.429, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e). Both men and women were involved in the trafficking of turtles. In 2020 more persons, particularly women, were involved in turtle trafficking in comparison to other years (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e). Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant decline in confiscations in between 2017 and 2018. There after it increased and maintained a steady rate during pandemic period (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber and percentage of turtles illegally entering in West Bengal from different States of India\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSource State\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of identified Source\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage (%) of identified Source\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUttar Pradesh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTamil Nadu\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAndhra Pradesh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.50%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGujarat\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.50%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrissa\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBihar\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdentified Source\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnidentified Source\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e133\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussions","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe lower Gangetic plain has been recognized as a priority area of turtles (Mittermeier et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) and has emerged as a significant hub for the illegal trade and national and international turtle trafficking route and market (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan refid=\"Fig8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e) in the present study. Their demand as food, traditional medication, ornamental value and as pets, has accelerated the decline and extinction of over half of the known species of NMTs (Stanford et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), yet the phenomenon has got little attention and remained poorly understood (Stengel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Stanford et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Mendiratta et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e) reported 223 instances involving seizure of 58,442 live NMTs in India during a period of five years (2011\u0026ndash;2015). Sengottuvel et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) documented 268 instances of illegal trade of NMTs in India over a span of seven years (2013\u0026ndash;2019) which accounted for seizes of 74000 live or dead individuals. In the present study West Bengal alone accounted for 133 confiscation reports accounting for seizure of 33,317 individuals which belonged to nine species, six threatened and one near threatened. This is more than half of the numbers of species illegally trafficked from India as Mendiratta et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e) reported confiscation of a total of 15 species of NMTs in India.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSince in the present study about 94% of the identified seized turtles were edible \u003cem\u003eL. punctata\u003c/em\u003e it may be inferred beyond doubt that those were being trafficked for meat trade. This species is currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (IUCN \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), protected under Schedule I of the WPAI and is widely harvested and trafficked for its meat and supposed medicinal value in India and at international market (Das \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e; Choudhury et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e; Krishnakumar et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Bhupathy et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Mendiratta et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Mandal et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). It is now the most preferred traded species potentially due to its non-aggressive behavior, small size and traditional utility. It might experience a fate similar to \u003cem\u003eBatagur baska\u003c/em\u003e (Gray, 1830) which was once abundant in the mangroves of West Bengal and Odisha. Being the most palatable of all the turtles it was over harvested and exploited (Moll et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). Currently this species is enlisted as Critically Endangered in IUCN Red List (IUCN \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) being limited to Sundarban area and suspected to have gone extirpated from Odisha (Mallick et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Under this context conservation of \u003cem\u003eL. punctata\u003c/em\u003e should be taken up on the priority basis. \u003cem\u003eG. elegans\u003c/em\u003e, which accounted for over 5% of the total identified seizures, on the contrary, appear to be being trafficked as pet trade. Thus it is also clearly evident that West Bengal has become a major meat trading hub rather than a pet trading. Approximately 150 kg of turtle meat are traded daily in local fish markets of Purba and Paschim Medinipur districts (Bindra, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Moreover Mandal et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) have also reported that \u003cem\u003eL. puncata\u003c/em\u003e are clandestinely harvested and sold in Paschim Medinipur district for meat. It was also found that bulk of the supply of soft-shell turtle in West Bengal came from Uttar Pradesh (50%) and Odisha (25%). Sengottuvel et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) also opined that Uttar Pradesh is the primary supplier of the soft-shelled turtles for rest of India. Indian star tortoise was smuggled exclusively in West Bengal from Tamil Nadu. It appears that the smuggling route of this species is currently shifting. Once commonly trafficked through Chennai (Sengottuvel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) it is now rerouted from Chennai to Kolkata and subsequently to Malayasia either directly or via Bangladesh most likely due to increase detection risk in Chennai as pointed out by Stoner and Shepherd (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). In West Bengal, North 24 Parganas is the chief hub of illegal trading accounting for 57.14% of seizures. Sengottuvel et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) also highlighted that North 24 Parganas emerged as a soft-shell turtle trafficking hub because this district of West Bengal shares 280 km of international border with Bangladesh. Other important trafficking centres are Paschim and Purba Medinipur districts, Howrah, South 24 parganas and Kolkata districts. Primary methods of entry in West Bengal in earlier days used to be by road (Choudhury and Bhupathy \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e). Present study also revealed that this holds good even now. Railway is also an easy route of entry due to lack of trained personnel at entry and exit points (Shepherd et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e) coupled with inadequate scanning equipment at railway stations (Emogor et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Significantly more turtles were confiscated during winter season. This might be due to higher demand in winter which coincides with the festive season in West Bengal. Moreover, being cold blooded these are easy to be captured in winter, hibernating in shallow water due to their low metabolic rate and activity level (Litzgus and Hopkins \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e). Perhaps due to the lack of alternative sources of income during lock down and covid pandemic a high level of involvement in turtle trafficking has been recorded with increased participation of women during that period. In contrast Badola (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) reported a remarkable decrease in poaching cases of NMTs in India during the lockdown period even though the total number of wildlife poaching cases more than doubled between pre-lockdown and lockdown periods.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePragatheesh et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) reported that between April 2018 to March 2020 Red-eared slider was traded in large quantities in India and these turtles were sold at very low prices (₹30 to ₹40 per individual) due to high availability, better survival rate and small size suitable for clandestine transporting. This species, a native to the Mississippi River in the United States, is now an invasive species in 75 countries or overseas territories (Vyas \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and has garnered recognition as one of the top 100 worst invasive species worldwide due to the proliferation, prompting recommendations against their release outside their native range or into natural environments (Dupuis-Desormeaux et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). In India Red-eared Slider has also been reported from Gujarat, Karnataka, West Bengal, Punjab, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, and Goa (Chaudhuri et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Jadhav et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Vyas \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and predates on native turtle species (Vyas \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Even though just one instance in the present study of this non-native turtle trafficking was recorded, the presence of \u003cem\u003eT.s. elegans\u003c/em\u003e might have a profoundly destructive impact on the ecosystem. A notable instance of such impact occurred in Rajarhat wetland near Kolkata, West Bengal, as documented by Chaudhuri et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), possibly as a result of illegal pet trading.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrafficking of turtle body parts, carapace and plastron, to meet the expanding traditional medicine demand in South East Asia and China has been previously reported by Compton (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e), Sundar (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e), Chen et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e), Das and Singh (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). Present study also recorded three seizures amounting to 349 kg of body parts. Confiscation of body parts, however, is far more difficult as compared to live specimen and demands better skill and understanding of the problem which is crucial for thwarting of illegal trade.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003ePresent study unequivocally indicates that West Bengal serves as a significant hub for the illegal trade of NMTs, with North 24 Parganas district as an epicentre. As such enhanced anti-poaching measures are imperative in West Bengal, encompassing advanced poacher identification techniques such as employing patrol dogs, conducting efficient searches in train, rail stations and airports using modern devices and quick response enforcement strategies implemented elsewhere to deter poaching. It is crucial to note that many of the live turtles are often released into the local water bodies. Such action could potentially have detrimental effects on the ecosystem. It is essential to establish adequate infrastructure for housing confiscated turtles and rehabilitating those. Authorities must conduct thorough assessment of the health and source of the origin of the confiscated individuals before releasing these to mitigate the risks of disease transmission, disruption of population genetics and adverse effects on local biodiversity. Unless harvesting for illegal trafficking is stopped extinction of the turtle species in the wild is imperative. Even if the trafficking is substantially controlled population decline cannot be prevented unless there is thorough monitoring.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCompeting Interests\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that no funds or grants were received during the preparation of this manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll enlisted authors have collaborated in developing and designing the manuscript. Drafting of initial manuscript, data collection, visualization and analyses were done by PM with the guidance of PHM. Final shape to the manuscript along with technical guidance was given by TB. All authors have carefully gone through the final manuscript and approved it.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors express their gratitude to the Vice Chancellor of Vidyasagar University for providing necessary facilities. They also like to extend their appreciation to West Bengal Forest department for official authorization to access turtle seizure data from different forest offices [Memo No. 2921(2)/WL/4R-11 (Pt-XVIII)/2023]. Prasun Mandal acknowledges CSIR, New Delhi, for their financial support in the form of a fellowship (Ref. No: 16/06/2019(i) EU-V).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll data are available in supplementary material.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAuliya M, Altherr S, Ariano-sanchez D, Baard EH, Brown C, Brown RM, Cantu JC, Gentile G, Gildenhuys P, Henningheim E, Hintzmann J, Kanari K, Krvavac M, Lettink M, Lippert J, Luiselli L, Nilson G, Nguyen TQ, Nijman V, Parham JF, Ziegler T (2016) Trade in live reptiles, its impact on wild populations, and the role of the European market. Biological Conservation 204:103-119.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBadola S, Choudhary AN, Chhabra DB (2019) Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles in illegal trade in India. TRAFFIC India, New Delhi.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBadola S (2020) Indian wildlife amidst the COVID-19 crisis: An analysis of status of poaching and illegal wildlife trade. TRAFFIC India, New Delhi.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBhupathy S, Choundry BC, Hanfee F, Kaylar SM, Khan MH, Platt SG, Rashid SM (2000) Turtle trade in south Asia: regional summary (Bangladesh, India and Myanmar). In \u003cem\u003eAsian turtle trade: proceedings of a workshop on conservation and trade of freshwater turtles and tortoises in Asia\u003c/em\u003e.\u003cem\u003e Chelonian Research Monographs\u003c/em\u003e 2: 101-105.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBhupathy S, Webb RG, Praschag P (2014). \u003cem\u003eLissemys punctata\u003c/em\u003e (Bonnaterre, 1789) - Indian Flapshell Turtle. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(76):1\u0026ndash;12.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBindra PS (2023) Crackdown on Illegal Wildlife Trade Could Prevent the Next Pandemic. https://roundglasssustain.com/conservations/illegal-wildlife-trade-pandemic. 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Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 5:037.1\u0026ndash;037.10. http://doi.org/10.3854/crm.5.037.baska.v1.2009 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePragatheesh A, Deepak V, Girisha HV, Tomar MS (2021) A looming exotic reptile pet trade in India: patterns and knowledge gaps. 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TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStoner SS, Shepherd C (2020) Using intelligence to tackle the criminal elements of the illegal trade in Indian star tortoises Geochelone elegans in Asia. Global Ecology and Conservation 23(2):e01097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01097\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSundar KG (2004) From a poacher\u0026apos;s bag: Patterns of exploitation of \u003cem\u003eLissemys punctata andersoni\u003c/em\u003e in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India. Turtle and Tortoise Newsletter 8:18-19.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVyas R (2019) Distribution of Invasive Red-eared Sliders, \u003cem\u003eTrachemys scripta\u003c/em\u003e (Testudines: Emydidae) in the wetlands of Gujarat State, India. Reptiles \u0026amp; Amphibians 26(2):145\u0026ndash;150.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVyas R (2020) A Captive Study of Interactions between the Invasive Red-eared Slider, \u003cem\u003eTrachemys scripta elegans\u003c/em\u003e (Wied 1838), and native Indian turtles. Reptiles \u0026amp; Amphibia 27(2):318\u0026ndash;323.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Freshwater turtles, Media portrayal, South Asia, Turtle seizures, Wildlife crime, Wildlife trade","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4812000/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4812000/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe global trade in non-marine turtles (NMTs) poses a serious threat to biodiversity. Its portrayal in the news media and other secondary sources provides a perspective on understanding what drives it, its effects and public involvement, helping in the identification of illegal trade lines. We used 133 confiscation reports from West Bengal, occurring between January 2017 and December 2023, as a case study on the confiscation scenario from various online news sources and from Forest Department reports. We identified seizure of 33,317 NMTs, belonging to nine species, six of which are threatened and one near-threatened. \u003cem\u003eLissemys punctata\u003c/em\u003e was the most commonly traded species accounting for 94% of the identified seized individuals and \u003cem\u003eGeochelone elegans\u003c/em\u003e comprised 5% of the traded individuals. NMTs were seized from 15 districts of West Bengal, with North 24 Parganas found to be a hotspot accounting for 57% of confiscations. The supply chain of soft-shell turtles extended beyond West Bengal to Uttar Pradesh (50%) and Odisha (25%), whereas star tortoises were exclusively smuggled from Tamil Nadu. Additionally, we found 349 kg of body parts were seized. All confiscated materials were meant either for domestic consumption or for illegal international trade through Bangladesh. Significantly more confiscations were recorded during the winter (H = -11.429, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and throughout COVID-19 pandemics illegal trading remained high, with an increase in the involvement of women. West Bengal become a significant hub for the illegal trade of NMTs, with North 24 Parganas district as its epicentre which needs more conservation attention.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"An analysis of illegal trade of non-marine turtles in West Bengal, India: Study based on a seven-year confiscation scenario","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-09-04 21:42:20","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4812000/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"014edc2b-8851-4f5a-9523-60e2b86e1c63","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 4th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-09-08T01:08:31+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-09-04 21:42:20","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4812000","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4812000","identity":"rs-4812000","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}