The survey stated that 126 species of exotic turtles accounted for more than 70% of Chinese trade turtles

The survey identified for the first time that there were 126 species of Chinese native turtles and 31 species of exotic turtles accounted for more than 70% of Chinese trade turtles.

China Qingping Market

How many types of turtles in our country have always been widely discussed. Yesterday, the reporter visited the South China Institute of Endangered Animals and learned that since 2003, scholars from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have worked together with famous turtle scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands to travel through 28 countries. Provincial and urban areas, and collected turtle pictures from 30 foreign countries for analogy, compiled and completed the “China Trade Turtle Retrieval Pictorial Book,” and announced for the first time that there were 126 species of trade turtles in China, including 31 species of Chinese native turtles. 95 species of exotic turtles accounted for 70% or more. The invasion of exotic turtles has exacerbated the deterioration of the living environment of domestic rare turtles and the extinction of their wild resources.

Threat 1

Local turtles are over-killed

Used as food pets and herbs

Local turtles are over-killed

The Chinese people believe that raising turtles can ward off evil, and many families raise turtles; the Chinese people also superstition “what to eat,” and many people eat turtles for a long time. In addition, turtles are extremely weak in attack, evasion, and prevention. They are easily captured. Regardless of species and size, all turtles are traded as pets, food, and herbs. This habit has caused nearly 70% of China's native turtles to face an endangered situation.

"China Trade Turtle Retrieval Picture Book" is a field survey of more than 90 turtle farms in 28 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the country. More than 370 farmer's shops, flower and bird markets, museums, zoos, and aquariums have been discovered. 40 are found in China. The native turtles were overkilled, the wild populations of the 3 species of the turtles became extinct, 8 species were extremely endangered, and 16 species were endangered. Even the number of natural (non-cultivated) species of turtles and Chinese sturgeons, which were widely distributed and numerous in number, declined sharply. The field is almost extinct.

Dr. Gong Shiping of the South China Institute of Endangered Animals is one of the editors involved in this book. He laughed and said that if domestic turtles continue to decline, in the near future, domestic research turtles may not find living organisms, and they can only study fossils. Researchers at the South China Institute for Endangered Animals surveyed Luofu Mountain and Nanling in Guangdong province and found that on average, every 5km can be found when a turtle is found. In the New Territories of Hong Kong, 70 to 80 turtles can be found in one kilometre of the New Territories. The slightness of the pattern is evident.

Threat 2

Exotic turtles enter the environment and destroy the ecology

Smuggling, law enforcement officers do not understand how to distinguish

Exotic turtles enter the environment and destroy the ecology

In recent years, China has imported turtles from all over the world. According to statistics, only 1,000 tons of turtles are approved for import and export through the National Endangered Species Management Office each year, and there are more than 700 million domestic traders. Turtles have become a group of wild animals that have been traded in a wide range, variety, and quantity.

But there are also turtles entering the country through illegal channels. Gong Shiping told reporters that the global turtles entered South-East Asia in two ways: land and water, with Vietnam and Myanmar as the main land, and the Philippines and Indonesia as the main seas. In addition to the smuggling methods, due to the lack of professional skills of law enforcement officers, it is not uncommon for restricted trade turtles to enter the formal way through the "Zhang Guan Li Dai" method. Guangzhou Qingping Market and Fangcun Flower, Bird, and Fish Market are the distribution centers for domestic pet turtles, and also the first stop for domestic distribution of imported turtles.

The South China Wildlife Species Identification Center stated that there are more than 100 types of trade in Guangdong alone, and the annual trade volume amounts to several million, many of which belong to rare species or foreign species. There are hundreds of illegal trade cases each year.

At present, illegal trade has caused nearly 50% of the approximately 460 species of turtles currently existing in the world to face a crisis of survival. However, foreign turtles are not a “happy event” because of their “relocation”. Many of them are pests that invade the natural environment and expropriate the living space of native turtles, further exacerbating the deterioration of the living environment of the rare tortoises in China and the extinction of their wild resources. .

Taking the Brazilian turtle as an example, after it entered China, there were basically no natural enemies and there were a large number of them, which devastated the ecological resources and made it impossible for Chinese native wild turtles to survive. At present, due to the error release, many places in the country can see the full range of Brazilian pond turtles.

Expert advice

Combating illegal turtle trade

Innovative identification methods help law enforcement officers identify turtles

According to Gong Shiping, a consensus has emerged in the industry that the illegal trade in endangered animals and plants has become the third largest illegal trade in the world after drug trafficking and arms smuggling. Stopping illegal trade is one of the effective ways to protect species. However, when preventing the illegal trade of turtles, law enforcement personnel are often trapped in the "lack of operability identification method."

For example, identifying green turtles with the traditional "specialist subject framework" requires nine steps and the second step has to be dissected, which is not feasible in daily law enforcement. This has caused many turtles that are restricted to trade to enter China as other turtles. The Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture's Endangered Aquatic Wild Fauna and Flora Species stated that China has a large trade volume and a wide range of species, and species identification has always been a difficult point for protection and management.

To this end, the “China Trade Turtle Searching Drawingbook” has innovated the method of identification of turtles. It begins with the retrieval of turtles and turtles (turtles and eagles) that are familiar to the Chinese people. Each search item extracts one or two typical external morphological features. Each feature was illustrated with high-quality ecological photos, and an image retrieval form was prepared for 126 turtle species. Enable law enforcement officers and readers without biological knowledge to accurately identify turtle species that are difficult to identify. In the same way as the identification of green turtles, graphical search tables are used. Law enforcement officials can use the map to find out the identification results in only three steps.

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