Over 11,000 tortoises and freshwater turtles entered illegal wildlife trade in India every year since 2009 - via Herp Digest

New Delhi, 1st October 2019—To draw attention towards the illicit poaching and smuggling of Testudines in India, TRAFFIC reveals that a minimum of 1,11,310 tortoises and freshwater turtles entered illegal wildlife trade in a 10-year period i.e. September 2009–September 2019. This equates to more than 11,000 individuals in illegal wildlife trade every year or at least 200 per week since 2009. Considering that an unknown proportion of illegal wildlife trade presumably goes undetected, the actual numbers could be much higher.

Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles Under Siege

Report author(s):

Dr Saket Badola, Amar Nath Chaudhary

Publication date: 

October 2019

Go to https://bit.ly/37MCK0a for report.

Unauthorised extraction from the wild for illegal trade as pets, and for food and medicine, are the main drivers of this trade. The findings were revealed through a factsheet “Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles Under Siege” that provides an insight into poaching and illegal trade of tortoises and freshwater turtles in

India. 

Most of the turtles and tortoise species of India are protected under various Schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, under which hunting, trade or any other form of utilisation of the species or their body parts and derivatives is banned. All turtle and tortoise species from India are also listed under CITES regulating their international trade. 

Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal emerged as the two major hotspots in terms of total number of animals seized, accounting for more than 60% of all reported seizures from 19 States and two Union Territories of the country indicating the wide expanse of this illegal trade. 

In total 14 Indian species of turtles and tortoises were found to be traded, of which Indian Star Tortoise Geochelone elegans accounted for 49% of the total identifiable individuals seized, followed by Indian Softshell Turtle Nilssonia gangetica (26%), Indian Flapshell Turtle Lissemys punctata (15%) and Black spotted or Spotted Pond Turtle Geoclemys hamiltonii (9%).

At the 18th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP18) held in August this year, Indian Star Tortoise was up-listed to Appendix I from Appendix II owing to its over exploitation. 

Tortoises and freshwater turtles in India are probably the most traded wildlife species in terms of their numbers in illegal trade. It is extremely worrisome to see the scale of the illegal domestic market for these species for the pet trade and for meat consumption.

Dr Saket Badola, Head of TRAFFIC’s India office

added: "The size of seizures of Indian species within India is indicative of a well-organised network of collectors, transporters and traffickers operating this trade. Immediate action both in terms of law enforcement initiatives as well as awareness about the species concerned is required.”

Mr Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF-India added, “Turtles and tortoises are mainly scavengers and keep aquatic ecosystems clean while some species help keep populations of snails and insects in check. It is important that they are conserved in their natural habitat. We are hopeful that this study will highlight the plight of tortoises and freshwater turtles in India and will lead to enhanced awareness and related actions.”

Dr Shailendra Singh, Director of Turtle Survival Alliance India Program says that training wildlife law enforcement agencies in identifying the species in trade is crucial to combating its poaching and illegal trade. 

TRAFFIC’s present study helps assess the extent of poaching, identify trade hotspots, and understand poaching and trade dynamics in India. 

Fish and Wildlife gets $30,000 to study sick turtles in St. Johns River- via Herp Digest

Since March 2018, an unprecedented 300 sick or dead turtles have been reported to FWC

Wednesday, May 1, 2019 ClayTodayOnline

TALLAHASSEE – The nonprofit Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida announced a $30,000 grant to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for freshwater turtle disease research.

The project will investigate the deaths of freshwater turtles in the St. Johns River watershed. Since March 2018, an unprecedented 300 sick or dead turtles have been reported to FWC. Prior to this event, only 75 undiagnosed cases of dead freshwater turtles had been reported since 2006. With a novel virus being the suspected culprit, the grant will support the development of diagnostic tools to further understand the virus and its reach in Florida.

Clay County is included in the St. Johns River watershed.

Foundation President and CEO Andrew Walker said, “The recent deaths of freshwater turtles in the St. Johns River are alarming. We are committed to finding the cause of the outbreak, as these turtles are an important member of the St. Johns River ecosystem.”

Grant funding came from the “Conserve Wildlife” specialty license plate fund managed by Foundation. The Foundation has raised and given away more than $32 million to support conservation, fishing, hunting and outdoor education for children, adolescents and adults. The Foundation recently completed a contest with Ringling College of Art & Design to redesign the plate in the hopes of increasing sales, and thus increased grant funding.

HUMANS HUNTED FRESHWATER TURTLES IN ISRAEL 60,000 YEARS AGO – via Herp Digest

                       

By, Daniel K. Eidenbud, 7/25/17, The Jerusalem Post

A doctoral candidate made an unprecedented discovery during excavations in the Hula Valley.

A Hebrew University of Jerusalem doctoral candidate made an unprecedented discovery during excavations in the Hula Valley, proving humans hunted freshwater turtles in Israel 60,000 years ago.

The findings, published in the Journal of Archeological Science: Reports, were made by Rebecca Biton following years of excavations and analysis of the turtle remains from the Middle Paleolithic site, adjacent to the paleo-Lake Hula and swamps, located in the northern Jordan Valley.

Biton, who made international headlines three years ago after discovering the remains of an extinct frog species in the country, studies at the university’s Institute of Archeology.

She’s including the recent analysis as a chapter in her dissertation, which she is submitting next week.

According to the young researcher, the earliest evidence known of humans exploiting freshwater turtles for sustenance dated 1 million years ago in Africa, making her discovery a quantum leap in her field of study.

“I’m studying amphibians and reptiles from the Hula Valley and looking at various sites, the oldest of which is from 800,000 years ago,” Biton said on Tuesday. “I was looking at the bones of the amphibians and reptiles to understand which species were in the Hula Valley 60,000 years ago, and if the humans back then exploited them somehow.”

Biton noted that there are two known species of turtles indigenous to the area: the Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise, which lives on land; and the Western Caspian turtle (freshwater turtle), which inhabits water. 

However, while it’s well-documented that tortoises were consumed by humans in Israel, there was never evidence until Biton discovered more than 300 bones from both species during digs at the site every summer between 2008 and 2014

“In Israel, at every archeological site you will find some evidence of the exploitation of tortoises, which do not have much meat, but were consumed,” she said, adding that deer, gazelle and cows were also well-known food staples during the Middle Paleolithic Period.

“This is the first time that we found any clear evidence in Israel that freshwater turtles were also exploited for food,” Biton said.

Among the bones unearthed in the three-to-four-meter digs near the water, Biton said 60 were identified as freshwater turtle remains.

“This is important because it shows that humans not only exploited animals on land, like the tortoise; but also from the Hula Lake and swamps,” she said. “They not only hunted on land, but also in the water before learning to fish.

Biton said the remains illustrate that humans shattered the turtles’ shell and carefully removed the meat using a flint knife.

“They took the turtle and smashed the shell and cooked whatever meat they could extract,” she said.

Biton’s adviser, Dr. Rivka Rabinovich, curator and manager of HU’s paleontology collection, praised the PhD candidate, whose dissertation is titled: “An Archeo-zoological Study of Amphibians and Reptiles from Pleistocene Archeological Sites in the Hula Valley.”

“Rebecca also made an important discovery that made a lot of noise three years ago when she identified the bones of the extinct Lagonia frog in the Hula Valley,” said Rabinovich.

“She is going to be a great researcher,” added Rabinovich. “I believe in her.”

U.S. Finalizes Trade Protections for Four Freshwater Turtle Species on World Turtle Day-Unsustainable and illegal trade threatens the future of native turtles (Common snapping turtle, Florida Softshell Turtle, Smooth Softshell Turtle and Spiny Softshell Turtle ) – via Herp Digest

Press Release, May 23, 2018, 

Contact(s): Laury Parramore, 703-358-2541 laury_parrramore@fws.gov

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today celebrates World Turtle Day by addressing the growing threat of unsustainable and illegal trade in native freshwater turtles through a final rule that will bring four native freshwater turtle species under the protection of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The listing of the common snapping, Florida softshell, smooth softshell and spiny softshell turtles under CITES will require exporters to obtain a permit before shipping turtles overseas, helping the United States better control trade to ensure it is legal. 

“World Turtle Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats around the world and to focus on stopping illegal trade in these species, which are threatened by unsustainable trade and wildlife trafficking. In 2013, we collaborated with international partners to adopt CITES protections for Asian freshwater turtles. Our own native species face the same global demand, so it is critical we protect them under CITES as well,” said Bryan Arroyo, the Service’s Assistant Director of International Affairs. “We will work closely with state wildlife agencies to protect native species and ensure trade is legal and sustainable, particularly for species at greatest risk of over-exploitation.”

Freshwater turtles and tortoises are collected, traded and utilized in overwhelming numbers. The Service supports a strategic, global approach to freshwater turtle conservation, as evidence shows that when protections for freshwater turtles are strengthened in one region, demand in other regions for unprotected species may increase. 

“U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement investigations have documented illegally exported softshell turtles to markets in Asia,” said Ed Grace, the Service’s Deputy Chief of Law Enforcement.  “Listing these species under CITES will help engage our international partners to assist our special agents and wildlife inspectors in the fight against the illegal turtle trade, including investigating the criminals who profit from it.”

Trade in turtles is most common in East Asia, principally in China, with supplier countries feeding well-established legal and illegal trade networks. Turtles are used primarily as food and in traditional medicines, although a growing pet trade across the region and in other parts of the world is increasingly impacting a number of threatened species.

CITES is an international agreement signed by more than 180 governments that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Species are listed under one of three appendices depending on the severity of the threat presented by trade. Listed species may be traded internationally only when accompanied by permits.

The Appendix-III listings of the common snapping turtle and three North American softshell turtles follow the successful sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16) to CITES, where the United States collaborated with China and Viet Nam to increase protections for a number of Asian freshwater turtles. In total, three native turtle species and 44 species of Asian freshwater turtles received increased CITES protection at CoP16. Increased protections for freshwater turtles will continue to be a priority for the Service at the upcoming CoP17, which will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2016.

For more information on CITES and how it operates, including Appendix-III listings, visit: www.fws.gov/international/cites/how-cites-works.html. 

The final rule will publish in the Federal Register May 24, 2016. The listing will be effective Nov. 21, 2016.

Feds to Seek International Trade Protection for U.S. Turtles

Would Help End Runaway Harvest of Turtles in Eastern United States

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that it will propose three species of U.S. freshwater turtles for protection at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Thailand in 2013. Today’s announcement responds to a 2011 petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity that asked the Service to help end the destructive international trade in American freshwater turtles. Millions of wild freshwater turtles are caught in the United States every year and exported.

“Turtle traders are depleting U.S. turtle populations at a frightening rate. It’s got to stop soon or we’re going to lose these incredible animals from the wild,” said the Center’s Collette Adkins Giese, an attorney and biologist who works to save endangered reptiles and amphibians. “Commercial harvesting only compounds the daily problems native turtles already face from habitat loss, water pollution and road mortality.”

More than 2 million wild-caught, live turtles are exported from the United States each year. Most are used to supply food and medicinal markets in Asia, where turtle consumption rates have soared despite the fact that native turtle populations have already been killed off. Adult turtles are also taken from the wild to breed hatchlings for the international pet trade.

Overharvest has caused population declines in almost all turtle species, with many now either protected as endangered under the Endangered Species Act or under consideration for such protection. For example, the beautiful spotted turtle — one of 53 species of amphibians and reptiles included in a recent Endangered Species Act listing petition filed by the Center — has suffered sharp declines because of overcollection for the pet trade.

Continued:  http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2012/freshwater-turtles-11-09-2012.html

Alabama Ends Commercial Harvest of Wild Freshwater Turtles – via Herp Digest

Other States, Feds Should Follow Suit to Stop Slaughter of Native Turtles

MOBILE, Ala.— 4/9/12 Press Release - Alabama moved to protect its wealth of diverse, native freshwater turtles when the state’s conservation advisory board voted unanimously to approve emergency regulations banning all commercial collection and killing of wild turtles and their eggs in public and private waters. The new regulations, which went into effect on Sunday, are among the most protective state rules to prevent export-driven overharvest of native turtles in the southern United States.

“Way to go Alabama! We’re so glad that states across the South are finally beginning to clamp down on the slaughter of native turtles,” said Collette Adkins Giese, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity who specializes in protecting reptiles and amphibians. “Turtle harvesters in the United States are catching and exporting millions of wild freshwater turtles every year, devastating populations that are already suffering from a lot of other threats, like habitat loss, water pollution and road mortality.”

The United States is a turtle biodiversity hotspot, home to more types of turtles than any other country in the world. U.S. turtle traders capture and sell more than 2 million wild freshwater turtles each year — mostly to supply food, pet and medicinal markets in Asia, where soaring turtle consumption rates have already decimated the local turtles.

Because freshwater turtles live for a long time — some up to 150 years — and breed late in life, with low reproductive rates, they are highly sensitive to overharvest. Alabama hosts 30 native turtle species — more than half of all the native freshwater turtles in North America. Alabama herpetologists sounded the alarm that the state’s turtle populations were plummeting because of demand and a lack of regulation.

In 2011 the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for international trade restrictions to end unsustainable export of freshwater turtles. The petition seeks protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for 20 species of native midwestern and southern freshwater turtles, including the alligator snapping turtle, map turtles, softshell turtles, spotted turtle, Blanding’s turtle and diamondback terrapin.

In Alabama, personal collection of turtles (for pets or food) is now limited to two per day, and these animals cannot be sold. Turtle consumption poses a human-health risk; because turtles live longer and bioaccumulate considerably more contaminants than fish, many turtles sold as food are contaminated with mercury, PCBs and pesticides.

Background

Alabama’s new regulations void all commercial turtle harvest permits, which previously allowed catching and keeping up to 10 turtles per day. Alabama turtle farmers can continue to propagate native turtles, but brood stock must come from other permitted turtle farmers or from legal sources outside of Alabama. Turtle dealers can continue to buy, sell, import and export legally acquired turtles, but the state now requires stricter annual reporting from turtle dealers.

Along with a coalition of conservation and health groups, the Center submitted regulatory petitions in 2008 and 2009 to 12 states without adequate turtle protections (Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas). These petitions ask for state bans on commercial harvest from all public and private waters to prevent further depletions of native turtles.

In response to the petition, Oklahoma enacted a moratorium on commercial harvest of turtles from public waters in 2008, while studying the status of its wild turtle populations. In 2009 Florida banned almost all commercial harvest of freshwater turtles from public and private waters; the same year South Carolina limited turtle harvest for nine native species, with regulations allowing taking no more than 10 turtles from the wild at one time and no more than 20 turtles in one year. Earlier this year Georgia set annual catch limits for eight species of native turtles, but they are not sufficiently protective of vulnerable turtles because they allow high harvest 

Contact: Collette Adkins Giese, (651) 955-3821 

Georgia Reins In Harvest of Freshwater Turtles (via Herp Digest)

New Regs Still Don't Go Far Enough to Safeguard Wild Turtle Populations

ATLANTA -Press Release -Center for Biological Diversity-1/26/12- The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Board of Directors today unanimously approved its first-ever state rules regulating the commercial collection of wild freshwater turtles. Georgia had been the only state in the Southeast without limitations on harvest or regulations on the export, farming and sale of native freshwater turtles. The new rules help address population declines of native southern turtle populations caused by unregulated harvest and export for international food markets.

"Georgia is clamping down on the unrestrained strip-mining of native turtles to supply food markets in Asia," said Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, which in 2008 sought a ban on commercial turtle collecting in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas. "The new regulations are a welcome step but don't go far enough to protect wild turtles, since the harvest limits are far above what's sustainable."

Turtle traders in the United States catch and export more than 2 million wild-caught freshwater turtles each year, mostly to supply food and medicinal markets in Asia, where soaring turtle consumption rates have decimated the native turtles. Turtles sold as food can be contaminated with mercury, PCBs, and pesticides. Adult turtles are also taken from the wild to breed hatchlings for the international pet trade. This unsustainable harvest is rapidly depleting native turtle populations already suffering from other threats like habitat loss, water pollution and road mortality. The Southeast became a hotspot of turtle harvest due to large turtle diversity and lack of state regulations on harvest.

"Georgia's previous wildlife laws treated native turtles not protected by state or federal law as no better than pests, so this is an improvement," said Miller. "However, lax limits and exemptions will be exploited by commercial harvesters profitably exporting turtles to Asia. A ban on commercial harvest is needed to fully protect turtles, and the potential health risks of consuming turtles contaminated with toxins need to be addressed."

The new regulations set annual catch limits of 100 turtles per year for the Florida softshell turtle, spiny softshell turtle and river cooter; 300 per year for the common snapping turtle, painted turtle, eastern mud turtle and loggerhead musk turtle; and 500 per year for the pond slider. There is no possession limit for freshwater turtles, but anyone who harvests more than 10 turtles at a time needs a commercial turtle permit issued by the Department of Natural Resources. Collecting freshwater turtle eggs from the wild is now prohibited, as is importing live native freshwater turtles or eggs from another state unless they were lawfully acquired in that state. The permits will require the reporting of harvest numbers and species trapped.

"With extremely high catch allowed and no limit on the number of permits, the Department of Natural Resources can provide no assurances that turtle harvest will be sustainable, since turtles have low reproductive and survival rates," said Miller. "There are several troublesome exemptions, and enforcement depends on a self-reporting system with no mechanism for ensuring that harvesters even stay within those limits."

Exemptions allow issuance of "catch-out" authorizations that exempt all harvest limits for private ponds, let permit holders take twice the annual quota for two years to expand turtle farms and give "nuisance wildlife" permits to posses more than 10 turtles for up to 72 hours. Other problems are the potential for incidental deaths of non-target protected turtle species that overlap with more common species in hoopnet traps, the difficulty of effectively enforcing the limits and the inability of trappers and law enforcement to distinguish protected species from those legal to harvest (such as distinguishing alligator snappers from common snappers and Barbour's map turtles from pond sliders and river cooters).

Of the 19 species of freshwater turtles native to Georgia, six (the Alabama map turtle, alligator snapping turtle, Barbour's map turtle, bog turtle, common map turtle and spotted turtle) were already protected from harvest by federal or state laws before the new rules were approved. Although eight species are now subject to new catch limits, five species (the chicken turtle, common musk turtle, Florida cooter, Florida red-bellied cooter and striped mud turtle) are not protected at all.

In 2005 Georgia discussed the need for turtle regulations in the state wildlife management plan, but took no action. As other Southeastern states began lowering catch limits and tightening up harvest regulations, turtle trappers moved into Georgia to take advantage of its lack of harvest rules. In 2008, the Center for Biological Diversity and Georgia conservation groups petitioned for a ban on commercial turtle harvest in all public and private waters, but the Department of Natural Resources claimed it lacked authority.

The Center has also petitioned to list several species of imperiled freshwater turtles under the Endangered Species Act and filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requesting steps to end unsustainable international trade in freshwater turtles through protections under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Flora and Fauna for 20 species of native freshwater turtles - the alligator snapping turtle, spotted turtle, Blanding's turtle, diamondback terrapin, three species of soft-shell turtles and 13 species of map turtles.