On February 26, judicial police followed up on the firearms case and found 16 live young Galapagos tortoises and 55 stuffed seahorses. Everything was in the house in the Centennial neighborhood of Guayaquil.
It is the latest discovery of species from the Galapagos Islands, a World Heritage Site. Sanctions for smuggling, trading and illegal possession of wild animals do not scare those who attack nature.
Police rescued 16 Galapagos tortoises from a property in the Centenario district, south of Guayaquil
2.6 tons of waste were collected in the coastal cleanup of the remote places of the Galapagos
On January 31, the state attorney’s office confirmed the three-year prison sentence imposed on a man for a crime against flora and fauna, following the disappearance of 123 baby giant tortoises from the Alfonso Tupiza breeding center on the island of La Isabella. The robbery took place more than three years earlier, on September 27, 2019.
In this case, the Court also ordered a fine of ten basic wages, forfeiture of property and bank accounts in the amount of $4,000, and comprehensive damages of $669,000 to the Galapagos National Park. The Chelonians were destined for China.
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Protected species require better control methods because crime uses all kinds of strategies to trade them. Last June, 84 giant land tortoises and 5 yellow land iguanas were discovered on a ship sailing from the Galapagos to Guayaquil. In 2022, the Ministry of the Environment admitted that offers to illegally sell Galapagos pink iguanas were made internationally on social media.
Expanding the sanctions that appear in the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP) is an option as a deterrent to those who intend to enter the black market. The norms of conservation of protected species must also be known, because as a general culture we are all obliged to preserve our fauna. And it corresponds to the functions of the state to review legislation to assess its effectiveness or if it is not applied with the rigor necessary to care for the planet that belongs to all. (OR)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
