Over 20,000 tortoises have been rescued from illegal wildlife poaching by the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization Turtle Survival Alliance.
The TSA's Androy Tortoise Conservation Center, based in Madagascar, cares for more than 24,000 tortoises that have been confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade. In recent years, enormous domestic seizures have skyrocketed the population in the TCC's care, resulting in the service "struggling to cope with a near-constant stream of new victims," as reported by Mongabay. Last May, Mexican authorities made the largest-ever confiscation of 15,000 live turtles headed toward China.
Poachers prize tortoises for their meat, which is considered a delicacy in some regions. Tortoises have also been idealized within the international pet trade. Poaching has become the "greatest threat" to tortoises, as tens of thousands are stolen from the wild annually.
Many tortoises are critically endangered. More than half of the 360 turtle and tortoise species reportedly face imminent extinction. This is not just an issue of poaching but also an issue of habitat loss, invasive species, and global warming.
The solution is to care for the tortoises and prepare them for release back into the wild. The TCC has found that release sites near Indigenous communities offer the most safety due to their "long-standing cultural affinity for the animals."
"We need to supply more tortoises for the wild population to thrive," Hery Razafimamonjiraibe, TSA's Madagascar country director, told Mongabay. However, this is not simple, as the tortoises are usually in bad shape when they arrive at the center, necessitating vital care.
Finding and maintaining release sites that will keep the tortoises safe is an emerging difficulty for the center. Habitat loss in the area and Madagascar's "low capacity to enforce wildlife laws" decreases success. So the center has been working with the Tandroy and Mahafaly Indigenous peoples, who value and help protect the tortoises.
Razafimamonjiraibe told Mongabay: "The success of the reintroduction program absolutely depends on building relationships with the communities on whose land the initiative works. Without their support, nothing can be achieved."
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