The Fading Star

It begins with a YouTube video. During the Covid-19 lockdown in Mumbai, wildlife filmmaker and presenter Aishwarya Sridhar stumbles upon videos of Indian star tortoises being kept as exotic pets. Protected under Indian law, these wild animals should never be in people's homes.

Yet hundreds, perhaps thousands, appear to be circulating through the international pet trade. Aishwarya starts asking questions: Where are these tortoises coming from? Who is collecting them? Who is buying them? And how does a wild animal from the forests of India end up in markets thousands of kilometres away?

An investigative documentary that digs deep into the illegal trade in Indian star tortoises. Wildlife filmmaker & presenter Aishwarya Sridhar undertakes an epic 3000-mile journey tracing the illegal trade pipeline from the dry, scrub forests of South India to the pet markets of Mumbai and going undercover in the dangerous wildlife markets of Mumbai and Bangkok. Along the way - she meets with law enforcement officials, traffickers, pet shop keepers, trade kingpins, ex-poachers and scientists to understand what it will take to protect the 'star' of the forest.