Overview
- SERFOR, which led the release Thursday, returned more than 1,000 taricayas and charapas to the Apayacu basin inside the Ampiyacu–Apayacu Regional Conservation Area in Loreto.
- The turtles were seized in 2023 during a joint operation with Callao Customs after export permit irregularities were detected, then placed in specialized custody.
- Veterinary and technical checks cleared the animals for return to the wild, and the release was timed to the Amazon flood season to boost survival and dispersal.
- The Comunidad Nativa Yanayacu and its communal vigilance committee will track the turtles with support from the Loreto regional government.
- SERFOR urged the public not to buy wildlife without legal origin, warning that such purchases drive trafficking and put species at risk.