Hyderabad: In a joint operation with the Forest Department officials, the Commissioner’s Task Force, South Zone, apprehended a resident of Chandrayangutta and rescued protected species including four Slow Lorises, one Indian Star tortoise and a soft shell turtle.
According to the officials, the accused, Saleh Bin Mohammed Badam, along with his brother, Ali Bin Mohammed Badam, both residents of Barkas, Chandrayangutta were running a medical shop and got into the illegal trade of animals as they are in good demand in the city.
Ali Bin Mohammed was procuring animals from one of his friends at lower price and selling them on higher prices, said Chakravarthy Gummi, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Commissioner’s Task Force, Hyderabad City.
The suspect, along with the rescued species, was handed over to the Forest Department for further investigation. Slow Loris are a group of several species of nocturnal animal found in North Eastern India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.
It is Red listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and as per the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, trading and breeding of Slow Loris is an offence.
Indian Star tortoise is found in dry areas and scrub forest. The species are unique and attractive. Soft Shell turtle is mostly found in rivers such as Ganges, Indus and Mahanadi.