TORONTO - January 22, 1996 - Environment Canada in cooperation with the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo today announced that 105 of the 232 Indian Star Tortoises that were smuggled inta Canada from India will be tansported to a new home in the United Statas.

The baby tortoises have been in the care of the Metropolitan ,Toronto Zoo for the past two months. They were discovered concealed in carry-on luggage on November 19, 1996, by Canada Customs and Environment Canada officials at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto. The live tortoises have a total estimated retail value of as much as $250,000.

The tortoises will be going to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee from where they will be shipped to seven zoos in the United States that are all members of the Chelonian (tortoise) working group of the American,ZooIogical Parks Association (AZPA). The working group's efforts are aimed at maintaining endangered specles of tortoises in the wild and to propagate them successfully in captivity. The remaining live tortoises will be sent to zoos in other destinations in the next two weeks.

Of the 232 tortoises thet were seized, 33 died due to their young age and the stress suffered when they were transported illegally, including undernourishment, the duration of travel, and their inhumane taveling conditions (they were packed in egg cartons and placed in carry-on luggage).

Environment Canada works in cooperation with governments and private organizations around the world to protect threatened and endangered species. Environment Canada was able to successfully place the tortoises in American zoos thanks to the efforts of the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo and Air Canada. The Zoo provided a healthy haven for the delicate tortoises and Air Canada Cargo has provided free transportation to their new destination.

The Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is an endangered species under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Without a valid CITES export permit, the import of the Indian Star Tortoise violates the Wild Anlmal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA). Canada is a signatory to CITES. Through WAPPRIITA, Environment Canada regulates the international and inter-provincial trade of endangered species, parts and derivatives, so that species have the protection needed to ensure a better chance of survival.

Bob Johnson
Metropolitan Toronto Zoo
(416)392-5901

��This species of tortoise is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Any import of an Appendix II species into Canada requires prior export authorization in the form of a CITES export permit. The species has also been protected in India (country of origin) since 1972, under legislation of that country. In 1989 and 1996, India advised all countries that are part of CITES that it has banned all exports of CITES Appendix II and III species that were indigenous to that country.

��A British citizen, Shing Kwong Chow, was charged with a violation of Section 6(2) of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA), as no prior export authorization was obtained in the form of a CITES export permit issued by the CITES Management Authority of the country of export. Mr. Shing Kwong Chow pleaded guilty and was fined $10,000 on November 22nd in Ontario provincial court.

��The Indian star tortoise is a much sought after species in the international pet trade. The tortoise is attractively coloured with a yellow central areola radiating yellow streaks onto each black shield of the animal's shell. In Southen India, the species is removed from the wild in large quantities to enter the pet trade. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 tortoises enter the trade annually.

��Environment Canada first offered the tortoises back to the CITES Management Authority in India but received no response. As a result, Environment Canada found appropriate placements in facilities dedicated to maintaining endangered species of tortoises in the wild and to propagate them successfully in captivity.

��The tortoises will be relocated to seven zoos in the United States. They are the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Louisville Zoological Garden, Sacramento Zoo, Woodland Park Zoological Gardens, Denver Zoological Gardens, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Dallas Zoo. All are accredited by the American Zoological Parks Association (AZPA) and all are members of the Chelonian (tortoise) working group of the AZPA.
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Bob Johnson
Metropolitan Toronto Zoo

Robert Wenting
Environment Canada