40 tons of Red Ear Sliders to be returned to U.S. !!!

[spikethebest]

40 Tons of Harmful Red-Eared Sliders, to Be Re-Exported to US
VietNamNet Bridge - 7/20/10

Can Tho Seafood Import-Export JS Company has agreed to return 40 tons of red-eared turtles to the US. They maintained that, before importing the turtles, they didn't realize these animals were harmful.

Forty tons or 24,000 red-eared sliders are being bred in Mai Dam hamlet in the southern province of Vinh Long by the company. Around 5200 turtles have died because of hunger and hot weather. Vinh Long officials noted that they didn't know the turtles could harm the environment, so they allowed Can Tho Seafood Import-Export JS Company to
import them.

Provincial authorities and the turtle importer recently met to define
measures to control the turtles, including ways to prevent their escape from
the farms and discouraging egg-hatching.
The importer was instructed to send these turtles out of Vietnam by
September 2010.
Can Tho Seafood Import-Export JS Company Director Vo Dong Duc has been
working in the fisheries industry for 20 years. He stated that he has no
idea that red-eared turtles were harmful when he imported them. The firm
will return the animals to the US in the next several weeks.
Red-eared sliders are a semi-aquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae
and a subspecies of the pond slider. It is a native of the southern US, but
it has become common in various areas of the world due to the pet trade.

Red-eared sliders are omnivores and eat a variety of animal and plant
materials in the wild including, but not limited to fish, crayfish, carrion,
tadpoles, snails, crickets, wax worms, aquatic insects and numerous aquatic
plant species. The captive diet for pet red-eared sliders should be a varied
diet consisting of invertebrates such as worms, aquatic and land plants, and
other natural foods. They should never be fed commercial dog food or cat
food. As they grow larger and older, they become increasingly herbivorous.

The IUCN lists this animal among 100 most dangerous exotic animals in the
world."

 

[Candy]

This is just a terrible situation Cory. I can't believe they did this. Unbelievable.

 

[dmmj]

What is the reason they are being returned? simply because someonr says the are dangerous?

 

[Laura]

Probably ship them back or euthanise them.. not sure what would be better...

 

[terryo]

If there's that many at least a quarter of them will die while being shipped anyway. What a sin.

 

[Laura]

where do they come from? Naturally? Can they be rehabbed and released???

 

[Kristina]

Release 24,000 RES, seriously?!?! Do you have any idea what an influx of that many turtles would do to the environment?

It is sad, but the connotations of a release would be simply staggering...

 

[spikethebest]

here is a copy/paste....

I just read about this in the 8/14/10 issue of HerpDigest
(herpdigest.org). The IUCN designation as a "dangerous exotic animal"
refers to the unique capacity (among turtles) of RES to adapt to so many
different habitats, and to establish themselves, pushing out less
aggressive native turtle species. It is now considered a dangerous
invasive species that has already spread to many other countries. The
warning has been sounded worldwide in recent years, as Louisiana "turtle
farms" (i.e., puppy mills for turtles) have sought new outlets for their
abundant production. The sliders are kept in enclosed ponds, and are
fed the offal (entrails, etc.) from local chicken slaughter houses
(hence the tendency for intense concentration of salmonella). Normally,
the eggs and hatchlings would be predated by all manner of other animals
(raccoons, skunks, rodents, etc.) and only a small percentage would
survive. Under these artificially human-subsidized conditions, egg and
hatchling survival is substantially higher. The eggs are collected and
packed in shipping crates, stacked in layers. This sort of treatment
would kill most chelonian eggs, but sufficient numbers of RES hatch
successfully to more than compensate for the dead embryos and hatchlings
that die during transport.

The entire process is both cruel and inhumane. These thousands of
hatchlings find their way to markets, both legal and illegal, here and
abroad. The numbers are staggering, and the recent deluge of
confiscated slider hatchlings that CTTC has received is a only tiny drop
in the proverbial bucket. On the East Coast, we have had thousands
upon thousands in recent years, and they have completely overwhelmed our
ability to find homes for new arrivals. Yet they continue to arrive,
and are still for sale on every corner in many neighborhoods.

The "farms" should be closed, but this has become political anathema in
the wake of continuing economic devestation following Hurricane Katrina.

The original intent of "farming" RES in Asia was to provide a substitute
for reliance on the seriously declining native turtle species
that continue to be a popular food item in the Chinese culture. The
turtles are typically live-butchered in food markets, where consumers
demand proof of freshness. As repugnant as this practice may be to our
own sensibilities, it is deeply rooted in Asian traditional culture and
has proven very difficult to change. We are still encountering this
same barbaric treatment of turtles found in the local food markets of
our Asian neighborhoods and "Chinatowns" right here in the US.
(California's recent ban on the sale and import of non-native frogs and
turtles as food items marks a very important victory in the effort to
put an end to this horrific activity.)

One wonders how this mass repatriation will be handled on our end, and
what will be done with so many displaced RES.

Barbara Daddario
NYTTS.org
http://nytts.listserv.org/

 

[dmmj]

well I know ftom our last meeting the CTTC executive board will no longer take in confiscated RES hatchlings (only),. Since these are not confiscated I don't know how this will affect this new ruling.

 

[Kristina]

I myself won't take in RES. I hate to say no to an animal in need, but we have to stop enabling both the breeders and the people that buy them without the proper research as to care requirements. The RES problem is 400X the Sulcata "problem." Sulcatas are not destroying natural habitats and wildlife by breeding out of control.

Not to mention these 24,000 that are coming back into the country have been exposed to parasites and diseases native to Vietnam. I hate to say it but for the sake of our native wildlife, and for the sake of the well being of the turtles, as off as it may sound, they need to be euthanized. It is better than leaving them to suffer when no one will take them.

 

[Yvonne G]

In my opinion, if the foreign countries are breeding the RES, then we ought to refuse to accept them.

If they were shipped to the foreign country from here, then they should be returned to the person/farm who sent them.

The farmer shouldn't get off scott free...getting to keep the $$ for the babies/eggs, then not having any responsibility when they are returned to our country.

 

[Laura]

I wonder how much this is going to cost... SOMEONE needs to pay!
When it hits the pocket book.. things start to change.

 

[TylerStewart]

Whoever made the mistake should pay for it. If the seafood company was allowed to bring them in, it's not their fault. If the farmer was allowed to ship them out, it's not his fault. Laws are laws. Just because someone doesn't like or agree with turtles being bred for food (or any other reason) doesn't mean it's illegal to breed them and sell them as food. If the government made the mistake, the government (translation - taxpayers) should pay for it, doesn't matter which government it was. If the farmer wasn't supposed to ship them out, he should pay if he was breaking the law. I really doubt the mistake was by the farmer, though.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

40 tons/24,000 RES...mind-boggling, to say the least!



Don't so much have a problem w/ them becoming food, but wish they were killed in a more humane manner.

 

[Laura]

it is a waste.. so so much.. if they are meant for food, then do it right and humanely and feed hungary people.. seems like the laws are the problem and how they are written.

 

[terryo]

Besides being sold all over ...2 for $5.00 ....in the little plastic tub, there are restaurants that have them as part of the menu. I have not seen this personally, but someone visiting told me that they saw it ordered in a restaurant. They are just piled on a plate, like shrimp in the shell...or crabs...you clean them as you eat them.

 

[TortieGal]

That's disgusting.

 

[Scooter]

I agree if they were breed over there then they need to find a way to take care of the problem not just ship them to us. Rescues are already out of room from all the unwanted RES pets what will we do with 24,000 more? I'm in Florida and I see people every couple of days trying to sell their RES even though it is illegal here.

 

[Jermosh]

RES are prolific even in Arizona. People buy them thinking they are so cute, and then when they outgrow the 55gal tank, they dump them in local manmade ponds. We have hundreds at the PHS now. Plus they are being an issue up in the mountains taking over other natural turtles area, that and crayfish.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I myself won't take in RES. I hate to say no to an animal in need, but we have to stop enabling both the breeders and the people that buy them without the proper research as to care requirements. The RES problem is 400X the Sulcata "problem." Sulcatas are not destroying natural habitats and wildlife by breeding out of control.

Not to mention these 24,000 that are coming back into the country have been exposed to parasites and diseases native to Vietnam. I hate to say it but for the sake of our native wildlife, and for the sake of the well being of the turtles, as off as it may sound, they need to be euthanized. It is better than leaving them to suffer when no one will take them.

I agree.