Galápagos: Hobby Hunters Targeting Giant Tortoises
Giant tortoises have been illegally hunted in the Galápagos Islands. The endangered animals urgently need better protection.
Ecuador's public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the alleged hunting of giant tortoises on the famous Galápagos Islands.
The investigating authority stated that four giant tortoises had been killed by hunters.
The special unit for environmental crimes is questioning national park employees as witnesses and will commission experts to carry out autopsies on the killed animals.
The national park administration had filed a complaint in early July, as the Ministry of the Environment announced. According to the report, the land tortoises were killed on the island of Isabela, the largest of the Galápagos Islands.
15’000 Dollars for a Run-Over Iguana
Hunting wildlife in Ecuador can be punished by up to three years in prison. In 2019, a man who had hit a tortoise and damaged its shell was fined 11’000 dollars. In the same year, a motorist was ordered to pay more than 15’000 dollars after running over an iguana.
The Galápagos Islands have been a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site since 1978, owing to their globally unique biodiversity. The archipelago, located a thousand kilometres off the coast of Ecuador, is home to the world's greatest number of endemic species — that is, species found nowhere else on Earth. It was made famous by the British naturalist Charles Darwin, who based his theory of evolution in part on his observations in the Galápagos Islands. The islands owe their name to the Galápagos tortoises.
