'For sale' turtles go back home
2006-05-16 09:49
Bangkok - Thirty-four rare pond turtles have been returned to Vietnam in what a conservationist said was the first time smuggled wildlife had been repatriated to the country.
The turtles - two rescued from a market in Hong Kong and 32 others born in captivity - were flown to Vietnam on a Cathay Pacific flight on Wednesday.
They will eventually be released into the wild.
Conservationists believed the two turtles were caught in the marshes of Quang Nam Province in 1999.
They were found for sale in a Hong Kong market, and turned over to the Kadoorie farm and botanic garden of Hong Kong - where they flourished, producing the 32 offspring that joined them on their return to Vietnam.
"This is the first known case of smuggled wildlife being returned to the country. The great irony is that most of the turtles flow the other way," said Douglas Hendrie, a fresh water turtle expert who helped co-ordinate the turtle's return.
"There is a huge trade underway with most turtles making their way to Chinese markets," he said. "Vietnam has decimated its wild turtle population."
Pond turtle is among the most threatened
A conservation officer at Kadoorie Farm, Paul Crow, said the return had been delayed because authorities wanted to ensure there would be a safe place for the turtles to live.
"It's fantastic," said Crow. "With all the animals we have here, the ultimate goal is to get them to their range country or natural habitat."
Of the 25 native species of tortoises and freshwater turtles in Vietnam, Hendrie said the pond turtle is among the most threatened.
They were last recorded in the wild in 1939, and numbers have fallen as a result of hunting and trade to meet the demand of export markets, as well as the loss of its lowland habitat.
Turtle is also listed on Cites
Vietnam's new wildlife protection law specifically lists the Vietnamese pond turtle as a protected species for the first time.
This means it may not be bought, sold, traded, or consumed without a permit from the government.
The turtle is also listed in the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (Cites), which bans export of the species without a specific Cites permit from the national government.
But even with national and international laws, Hendrie and Crow acknowledge the turtles will remain at risk.
For now, the newly repatriated turtles are being kept tat the Turtle Conservation Centre at Cuc Phuong National Park, where the government runs a conservation programme for critically endangered species, including the Vietnamese pond turtle.
"We are looking for a suitable site where these turtles will be protected," said Hendrie. "The last thing we want to do is drop them in a pond and then see them in China two months later back in the trade."
- AP