The post (offering 3 tortoises for sale) on the online portal appears in the "Pet Adoption" section. On whether keeping turtles is illegal in India, the Secretary of BSPCA Mumbai replies "In general keeping a single common turtle as pet is allowed. However, it is illegal to keep more numbers without necessary permission." Now that reasoning is beyond me.

As far as interpretation of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 is concerned, there seem to be too many loopholes with respect to keeping Turtles as pets. Enforcement of this act is another story altogether.

Shall try to get updates from the authorities & keep you posted. However, I wonder to what extent is the website accountable for permitting sales of Turtles in the guise of pet adoption ???