Save the turtles

The Monday, May 31st, DAWN has a letter to the editor about the plight of freshwater turtles in Punjab, Pakistan. The turtles are being brutally massacred for the illegal international wildlife trade and exported to foreign countries. Please write polite letters to the Director General of the Punjab Wildlife Department, and demand that this senseless violence come to an end immediately, that the perpetrators be arrested and fined and the relevant departments made to carry out their mandates. Here is the letter in its entirety:

IT has come to the notice of the Pakistan Animal Welfare Society that freshwater turtles in Punjab are being massacred for profit at a scale that puts their very existence at risk. Not only are they being killed in an extremely brutal fashion, there is absolutely no check on the numbers that are being lost daily and how this must be impacting the biodiversity of the river systems.

The Punjab Wildlife Department’s nonchalant response to this crisis proves them unworthy custodians of wildlife. Instead of waiting for legislation to arm them with a right to action, they should be actively formulating laws and stretching definitions that would allow them to fulfill their responsibilities. If nothing else, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is enough to put a stop to this.

Turtles are one of the oldest continuing species on this planet, representing over 200 million years of evolutionary history. Their population should be protected and valued as a national natural heritage.

Being an animal lover, I would request Muhammad Ayub Tariq, Director-General of the Punjab Wildlife Department, to stop this senseless violence immediately, arrest the perpetrators and fine them.

KINZA KAZMI
Karachi

It is imperative that all correspondence be courteous; otherwise, our campaign will suffer.

Director General
Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department
2-Sanda Road
Lahore, Pakistan

Please also send your letters to editors of leading newspapers in Pakistan.

DAWN
letters@dawn.com

The News
news.post@thenews.com.pk

Daily Times
letters@dailytimes.com.pk

All letters should include the writer’s full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan, a day-time telephone number.

Note: Be sure to let us know if a publication prints your letter(s) so we can share your success with other writers.

Thank you for all your efforts in behalf of animals!