Indonesian officials caught 215 turtles and five snakes at Bakauheni Port, South Lampung Regency, before they could be smuggled out of the country.
What's happening?
The Lampung Animal, Fish and Plant Quarantine Center found the stolen reptiles in April.
Donni Muksydayan, head of the Lampung Quarantine Center, said in a translated statement to VOI that in the middle of routine checks, officers suspected that white basket box packages were being used for animal smuggling.
Muksydayan stated that officials also confiscated the animals because they lacked veterinary certificates and transport letters. It's against the law for animals to be shipped without proper paperwork. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that people have been caught smuggling animals out of Indonesia in 2025.
In the meantime, Muksydayan said that the animals would go to temporary shelters for proper care. He said he also intended to tighten up package inspection processes to prevent animal smuggling in the future.
Muksydayan added in another translated statement to VOI that he wanted to see the community come together to eliminate smuggling or trafficking of animals in part because it "can damage our ecosystem."
Why is turtle smuggling a problem?
Of the 220 reptiles that were almost taken, 213 of them were Southeast Asian box turtles. Also known as Malayan box turtles, they're native to Indonesia and many other Southeast Asian countries.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List classifies Southeast Asian box turtles as endangered. This is due to illegal pet trading and extraction from their habitats to be eaten.
The turtles also suffer because of aquatic pollution, which happens when oil runoff from human activity pollutes their watery homes.
By smuggling turtles out of their habitats, people risk toppling the local ecosystem. This could have a domino effect that would endanger our access to food. It may also hurt animal populations that coexist with the box turtles.
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Definitely 👍 What's being done to save the turtles?
The IUCN stated that Southeast Asian box turtle populations have been tracked in Indonesia as well as India and Thailand. While there aren't any laws in Indonesia to protect these turtles, they usually live in protected spaces like national parks.
And laws like the one that prevents animal shipment without proper paperwork will hopefully prevent more animals from being illegally traded.
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