China gobbling up Florida turtles; biologists warn species survival is threatened

[seafan]

China gobbling up Florida turtles

By Craig Pittman, Times staff writer
October 6, 2008

A rising demand in China for turtles for food and medicine has led to the round-up of thousands of turtles from Florida's lakes, ponds and canals.
Exporters are shipping up to 3,000 pounds of softshell turtles a week out of Tampa International Airport, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A Fort Lauderdale seafood company is buying about 5,000 pounds of softshell turtles a week. They're worth about $2 a pound to the harvesters.

"Asian countries are causing the extinction, the near extinction or the endangerment of every species of turtle they have over there, so now they're turning to the United States to supply their insatiable demand for turtle," said Matt Aresco, a turtle biologist from the Panhandle.

The trend — which biologists worry threatens species survival — has surfaced at places like Newnan's Lake near Gainesville. Last summer, as Gary Simpson jotted down the license plate number of a suspicious-looking pickup, he wondered about the bulging sacks in the truck bed. Simpson, who manages a tackle shop, worried poachers had filled the sacks with fish.
After he used his pocket knife to slash open a sack, "Turtles started piling out," he said. There were at least a dozen in each of the 20 sacks, he said. "It was pretty obscene, it really was.

.....

Other states — Alabama and Texas, among others — have recently restricted or banned the harvest of turtles. As those states have cut off access, the harvesters have focused more and more on Florida's turtles, Aresco said.
The harvesters target the larger turtles, the ones old enough to reproduce, Aresco said. Wipe out those and soon all the turtles will be gone.

.....

State and federal officials make the wildlife laws, not cities.

.....

It will take determined public pressure on state and federal officials to get protective laws on the books for our fragile environment. Sea turtles and nests are strictly protected by law. It's time to extend it for protection of these inland creatures.


Once again, as long as Florida and Washington are controlled by Republicans, these obscenities will go on.

[DBoon]

1. Maybe we could convince the Chinese that Republicans are good food and medicine

The rapid extinction of Republicans might not be a bad thing

Turtles everywhere would rejoice

[provis99]

2. sure, just what we need

eat Republicans: the ultimate aphrodisiac for insecure Chinese guys.

[DBoon]

3. I'm sure republicans are more abundant than Enzyte's ingredients

it would make a cheap substitute

[CrispyQ]

4. Most are probably full of Viagra & Cialis. nt