Proposed CITES Designations Would End Unsustainable Exploitation
of 17 U.S. Turtles in Midwest, South, East
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. 4/10/12 — Press Release - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service today announced that
it may propose 17 species of U.S. freshwater turtles for protection at the next
meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Thailand in 2013. Today’s announcement that the
turtles cleared the first hurdle toward international restrictions responds to
a 2011 petition submitted
by the Center for Biological Diversity that asked the Service to help end
unsustainable international trade in U.S. freshwater turtles. Millions of wild
freshwater turtles are caught in the U.S. every year and exported.
“Turtle traders are depleting U.S. turtle populations at a
frightening rate. It’s got to stop before we lose these incredible animals from
the wild,” said the Center’s Collette Adkins Giese, an attorney and biologist
who works to save endangered reptiles and amphibians. “Commercial harvesting
only compounds the daily problems native turtles already face from habitat
loss, water pollution and road mortality.”
More than 2 million wild-caught, live turtles are exported from
the United States each year. Most are used to supply food and medicinal markets
in Asia, where turtle consumption rates have soared and where native
populations of turtles have already been decimated. Adult turtles are also
taken from the wild to breed hatchlings for the international pet trade.
Overharvest has caused population declines in almost all turtle
species and many are now either protected as endangered under the Endangered
Species Act or under consideration for such protection. For example, the
beautiful Barbour’s map turtle — now moving toward Endangered Species Act
protection due to a Center listing petition — has suffered sharp declines
because of overcollection for the pet trade. And the alligator snapping turtle,
which can reach 250 pounds and is the largest freshwater turtle in the United
States, has been intensively exploited for its meat. The Center petitioned several
states in the South and Midwest to ban commercial harvest of snapping turtles
and other native turtle species plummeting because of demand and a lack of
regulation.
“The United States needs to act now to save our freshwater
turtles,” said Adkins Giese. “International protection from exploitation is
vital for the survival of wild freshwater turtle populations across the
country.”
The list of species released today by the Service contains 17
species of U.S. turtles being considered for CITES Appendix I or II, including
the alligator snapping turtle, spotted turtle, Blanding’s turtle, diamondback
terrapin and 13 species of map turtles, all of which the Center recommended in
its 2011 petition. The Service also announced that four other species proposed
by the Center — three species of softshell turtle and the common snapping
turtle — will not be proposed for inclusion in the CITES appendices.
When turtles are added to CITES Appendix II, their international
trade will be regulated using a permit system, with permits issued only when
trade has been determined to be nondetrimental to species survival. CITES
Appendix I species are threatened with extinction, so turtles included in this
appendix would generally not be permitted in commercial trade. CITES-listed species
are also subject to mandatory reporting requirements.
The Service received more than 25,000 comments supporting trade
restrictions for the North American turtles. The Service is now opening another
public comment period on its species proposals for the sixteenth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties (“CoP16”), which will be held in March 2013 in
Thailand. The agency is expected to announce its final species proposals by the
end of the year.
Contact: Collette Adkins Giese, (651) 955-3821
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