Thursday 7 August 2014

Japan: Snapping turtles menace farmers and residents

5 August 2014 Last updated at 10:52

Japan is reportedly facing a surge in its population of snapping turtles - threatening some of the country's fragile ecosystems as well as its people's fingers.

Snapping turtles originally come from the Americas, but turned up in Japan as pets in the 1960s, Kyodo news agency reports. Some turtles must have escaped to the wild, as there were an estimated 1,000 turtles roaming the Chiba Prefecture 10 years ago. The turtles have been classed in Japan as an invasive species and are eating up fish, bird and weed stocks, and chewing their way through fishermen's nets.

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