Other Turtle Discussion :: The Plight of the Turtles

[zuse]

Today I got to the chance to speak with the curator/head zookeeper of reptiles and amphibians at a nearby zoo and was able to learn a lot more about turtles and see some rare species. My interest in turtles is fairly new (on these sorts of trips I usually focus attention on primates and small mammals). Anyways, I learned a lot of new information, but there has been one revelation that's been really bothering me. Now, maybe I've heard this before and just wasn't that affected by it but apparantly there is a BIG problem with turtles/tortoises being eaten. Now, of course THAT particular statement is not entirely surprising to anyone as many different places have similar delicacies, but this is actually affecting our turtles (sliders, etc.) as well. Not to be disrespectful of anyone's culture, but apparantly one of the biggest problem areas for turtle overharvesting/eating is China. There turtles are eaten not just because they are a delicacy, but because they have such long lifespans. According to what I was told, eating them is thought to help you live longer and help cure whatever disease you may have. Eating them is traditional, as well as a status symbol. Some cost over $3,000 in the markets (many times a poorer person's annual salary), so it is very hard for people to resist collecting them to sell to the wealthy that want them. There was some sort of conference to discuss this, and apparantly some representitives from China essentially said that they were going to keep eating turtles and there was nothing anyone can do to stop them. Now, as an American I can hardly fault another society for overconsumption of resources, but I just think it's just so sad that these poor guys are being wiped out. The tortoises aren't really practical to farm since they grow slowly and take many years to become reproductive. Thus, wild individuals are being taken from the populations which declines the reproducing population while demand for turtles goes up. What really bothers me is that over 100,000 Yellow Belly Sliders, Cooters, Soft Shells, etc. were collected by someone in my state and actually taken over there to help fill this demand (we don't have the best laws, like NC does). I don't like that some ecosystem was ruined just because someone can't resist the opportunity to make profit, but thus is the way of the world. I'm always bad about trying to understand both sides of the issue so I can see how unreasonable and unsuccessful it can be to request a country to stop in trade/excessive consumption that is harmful for the environment but that they regard as important (aka *ahem* oil). Anyways, I was just wondering what some of you guys thought. I think the biggest problem is that people always assume that the turtle population is limitless. Once theirs are gone then they will just attain them from other countries. Poor turtles.

(I apologize that I don't have any sources for this. I'm going to go look for some. I was just sort of shocked and wanted opinions on this subject.)

Here are a couple of pictures. I'm not sure what these species are, but I think at least one of them is involved with this problem. I think one (or both) of the species were seized from restaurants or bought at markets. (The small tortoise is one of the offspring from such an individual). And if by some chance the person from the zoo reads this, Hi!

[scripta_elegans]

It is really horrible. There is a similar problem with sharks being over fished just for their fins for myths of their powers. There has been a massive loss of sharks in the last 10 years, some experts estimate up to 80% of several species, and yet as they are not deemed cute or important, the slaughter gets little attention. It's bad enough that they can't repopulate quickly, and aren't being protected most places, but worse, is that people are simply cutting off all their fins and dumping the rest of the shark. I will NEVER fault a person for eating an animal that they must to survive, but things considered delicacies like shark's fin and importing turtles make me furious. This is not nessesary or even beneficial, shark's fin contains high levels of mercury, and turtle can harbor salmonella and parasites if not thouroughly cooked. It's just not right. I have problems with anyone who does this. Regardless of culture, religon, beliefs, or any other arbitrary thing. (I also tend to be a hardcore tree hugging vegetarian type, so I am a little touchy about people wiping out animals needlessly.)

[flutterby]

I can understand if animals are bred for the purpose of consumption, like we do with cows, pigs and chickens. But to take them out of the wild by massive numbers is rediculous.

[SpotsMama]

Here's an article by the New York Tortoise and Turtle Society on the subject. Depressing. http://nytts.org/asianturtlecrisis.html

There's an organization called the Asian Turtle Conservation Network (I think that's what they are called) whose members collect Asian turtle species for breeding outside Asia in an effort to establish populations that can be protected outside Asia. Sounds like a worthwhile thing to do. I read about them in Reptile magazine.

[zuse]

The more I learn about turtles the more fascinated I get. Especially about the lifespans. I knew of many larger tortoises that were documented as being very old, but apparantly some species (possibly) *can't* die of old age as far as they know. They just die whenever predators/accidents/environment changes finally get them. Supposedly, recently someone that collects huge old snappers (live) from the Missippippi River area for meat (once again, I'm being vague *sigh*) which at least in the very recent past is still done found wounds on them from hunters. Not bullets, though. He found embedded arrowheads and spear points like the Native Americans used. Can anyone say 200-300+ years? (I know that you can't fully date a turtle without knowing when it hatched and I'm sure there could probably be another explanation for this... but sometimes the most obvious one IS true. That just blows me away).

[SpotsMama]

The turtles ARE amazing. I remember our local municipal aquarium had a huge old snapper. I was little, so he seemed gigantic to me. He must have been 4 feet long - maybe more. Anyway, he was supposed to be over 100 years old. I can't remember the exact age. Last time I visited he wasn't there. I don't think a manmade habitat can ever be as good as a good natural one. I've been completely captivated by my RES - which is a big surprise to everyone who knows me - I just don't seem to be a "reptile" type of person. They are wonderful creatures. I wish everyone could understand that so they would earn the protection from exploitation that they deserve.

[CountryGirl68]

My mother has joked that we can make turtle soup with my Tanner (trust me, it was in good humor - she loves my turtle and even had box turtles when she was growing up). But the exportation of turtles is something that my vet told me about. He said many of these online shops that sell hatchlings will export hundreds of them to other countries for food consumption. Soft shell, alligator snapping and snapping turtles are among the preferred "eating" turtle. I read somewhere that RES are not recommended because "they have no meat on their bones" or something like that. Asian turtle species are the ones that are most feared of becoming extinct.

In Brazil, when the sea turtles come on land to lay their eggs by the thousands (called the "arribada" - saw it on Discovery), locals are allowed by the government to harvest the eggs for consumption. Luckily, this is only allowed during the first 24 hours of the "arribada"; after that, the law protects whatever other turtles come to lay eggs. This results in 20 million of the about 40 million eggs surviving unless eaten by animal predators. (I say luckily because after the first day of the "arribada", hundreds more turtles come on land.)

The US is famous for exporting turtles to Asian countries for consumption. Although many US states have laws that protect turtles from being taken from the wild, it is okay to export them to other countries for food. In fact, in Tennessee, it is illegal to own turtles as pets, but it is legal to eat them! And there are a few other states in the US that have this same law!

I just wonder why the US doesn't export roaches for consumption - we've got more than enough of those to go around!!

[zuse]

I know that the problem that RES being one of the top invasive exotics is that the babies get shipped everywhere for pets. But these people are interested in eating the grown ones, and apparantly aren't interested in raising their own/waiting.

One of my teachers (who is a field researcher now) remembers being in Mexico as a child. Some main asked them if they wanted to see the Tortugas. They thought they were going to see the sea turtles lay eggs or see the babies go to the sea. So they went to the beach. People were dragging them in from the ocean, cutting them open to spill out the eggs, and (I think) just cutting them up for food. Meanwhile all the eggs were being crushed under feet. So terrible.

[CountryGirl68]

A friend of mine went to the Cayman Islands recently and they have a sea turtle farm. She first thought it was like a zoo type place until she found out it is where they breed sea turtles for human consumption.