Turtle poaching to meet the rising demand for the species as pets has pushed more than half of the nearly 300 living turtle and tortoise species closer to extinction, a global wildlife conference has heard.
The 184-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which is meeting in Panama from 11 to 25 November, has seen one proposal that would ban or limit the commercial trade in more than 20 mud turtle species. More than 10 other proposals have been received that would increase protection for freshwater turtles.
In bringing the proposals, the US and several Latin American countries cited Mexican data that nearly 20,000 such turtles were confiscated between 2010 and 2022, mostly at the Mexico City airport.
Black market turtle sales in the US, Europe and Asia have led to increased levels of poaching that have hurt turtle populations. According to an analysis of US Fish and Wildlife Service data by a University of Michigan doctoral candidate and cited by the Associated Press, the commercial export trade for mud turtles in the US increased from 1,844 to 40,000 between 1999 and 2017. For musk turtles it rose from 8,254 to more than 281,000 over a similar period.
“It’s getting ruthless where we are seeing thousands of turtles leaving the United States on an annual basis,” said Lou Perrotti of the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. “Turtle populations cannot take that kind of a hit with that much removal coming out of the wild.”
Freshwater turtles make up some of the most trafficked animals globally. The demand exists due to a variety of reasons: consumers wanting them as pets, commercial breeding, consumption as food, for medication and for the popularity of their colorful shells.
The poaching trade was previously concentrated in south-east Asia but after many species declined the activity grew in Africa, and is now headed to the Americas, according to Matthew Strickler from the US Department of the Interior.
The gender of the turtles is also of concern. Many of the traffickers target female turtles, which is a problem given the slow rate of turtle reproduction. Many turtle species also take a decade or longer before they are grown enough to be able to reproduce.
Dave Collins, director of North American turtle conservation for the Turtle Survival Alliance, told the Associated Press that this can cause a “spiraling decline” of turtles that may be irreversible.
Associated Press contributed to this reporting