14 October 2014
TRAFFIC Reports on Illegal Trade Threatening Pig-Nosed Turtle
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A TRAFFIC report 'Assessing The Trade In Pig-Nosed Turtles,' says that intensive illegal collection of the vulnerable pig-nosed turtle for the pet, food and traditional medicine trades has reached alarming levels.

The pig-nosed turtle is protected under national legislation in Indonesia and is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

traffic4 October 2014: A TRAFFIC report, titled ‘Assessing the Trade in Pig-Nosed Turtles,’ indicates that intensive illegal collection of the vulnerable pig-nosed turtle for the pet, food and traditional medicine trades has reached alarming levels. The pig-nosed turtle is protected under national legislation in Indonesia and is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

The report finds the turtle species threatened by high international demand, organized global wildlife trade and poor enforcement in Papua province, Indonesia. An earlier report, from 2011, showed that pig-nosed turtles in Papua were already suffering severe declines due to over-harvesting. This latest report notes that pig-nosed turtle eggs are collected from river banks by villagers, who incubate them in hatcheries before selling the juvenile turtles into the global traditional medicine and pet trades. Such operations are not legitimate captive-breeding enterprises as the eggs are illegally collected from the wild. An estimated 1.5 to 2 million eggs are collected each year, although the report says that the figures may be considerably higher and are continuing to rise.

Over 30 seizures amounting to more than 80,000 individual pig-nosed turtles took place between 2003 and 2013. The report notes that minimal enforcement has allowed illegal practices to continue and to grow, fueled by rising demand from China and Hong Kong, as well as a growing online marketplace for the turtles. To fight the trend, the report recommends community-led awareness programmes and efforts to address socio-economic issues that drive illegal trade in the species.

TRAFFIC is a member of the ‘Friends of Target 12’ partnership to assist countries in their efforts to achieve Aichi Biodiversity Target 12, which aims to prevent further extinctions of threatened species and improve the conservation status of those species disappearing most rapidly. [Publication: Assessing The Trade In Pig-Nosed Turtles] [TRAFFIC News]

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