The Seychelles’ Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change notes that as recently as 2017 and earlier this year, several reports of people smuggling giant land tortoises and even reptiles out of the country, have been recorded.
This includes the Seychelles' giant bronze gecko, as rightly mentioned by the Minister in his opening address, which is believed to be sold for thousands of USD on the international market. It is evident that if left unchecked, such practices pose the risk of establishing very perverse activities locally just to feed such markets.