Two ‘malnourished’ star turtles rescued from Mulund pet shop; owner booked

The pet shop used to sell fish on the front and traded in scheduled animals at the back. There were birds and turtles as well,” said an inspector from the Mulund police station. (Representational image)

TWO STAR turtles were rescued from a pet shop in Mulund Saturday evening. According to Animal Welfare Board officers, the turtles were malnourished and appeared to have been starved in captivity. On Saturday, animal activists and Animal Welfare Board members Chetan Sharma and Nirali Karodiya raided a pet shop in Mulund. “The pet shop used to sell fish on the front and traded in scheduled animals at the back. There were birds and turtles as well,” said an inspector from the Mulund police station.

According to the police, the two activists went in as customers and tried to buy the turtles. “The turtles were kept in a fish tank hidden in the basement and covered with plastic sheets. The turtles had no food, fresh air or sunlight. They were severely malnourished,” said Karodia.

The police have registered an FIR against the owner of the shop, Joy Paul and his helper Bhakti Parwade, for illegally keeping and selling a turtle. “We are looking for Paul who ran away and are interrogating Parwade. It is possible that the turtles were smuggled in from out of the state and were being sold here. The turtles were handed over to forest officials and they are currently recuperating,” said the officer.

According to Karodia, star turtles are much in demand. “The star turtles look nice and are superstitiously considered lucky. However, they are fragile and need certain conditions to thrive. We need to stop thinking of them as objects and start treating them with respect. Only then can their trade stop,” she said.