Police in Western Australia discovered two rare pig-nosed turtles during a raid on a property outside Perth.
Police were shell-shocked when they discovered a pair of rare animals during a property raid in Western Australia after a man tried to sell the endangered animals online.
Two pig-nosed turtles were discovered in the Mt Helena property, along with two illegally kept south-west carpet pythons and an oblong turtle.
The man behind the attempted sale was caught after he posted an advertisement on Gumtree.
The turtles can be sold for as much as $2000 as an exotic pet on the black market.
Only one of the pig-nosed turtles was alive when police arrived.
The WA Department of Parks and Wildlife said the turtles, which were close to extinction, were native to New Guinea and the Northern Territory, which was where police believed the seized animals originated.
The man who was allegedly keeping the reptiles illegally was caught while trying to sell the live turtle.
Wildlife officer Cameron Craigie said the seller of the turtle was caught in a sting operation.
‘We arranged a buyer of the turtle and conducted a seizure on Friday,’ Mr Craigie said, according to the ABC.
‘Department of Parks and Wildlife do monitor a number of advertising sites; Gumtree is just one of them.’
Charges are expected to be laid under the Wildlife Conservation Act with the maximum penalty for keeping fauna in captivity without a licence being $4,000.
“This extremely vulnerable species is being put at further risk by poachers and traffickers, who are driven by the prospect of monetary gain from supplying people wanting to keep them as pets illegally,” Cameron Craigie said
Mr Craigie said the turtles were the only freshwater species with flippers and were internationally protected.
‘This extremely vulnerable species is being put at further risk by poachers and traffickers, who are driven by the prospect of monetary gain from supplying people wanting to keep them as pets illegally,’ Mr Craigie said.
‘Pig-nosed turtles are very difficult to care for in captivity, as seen by the death of one of the seized animals, which became trapped in an aquarium pipe several years ago.’
Source : dailymail.co.uk