25
Apr 2008 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—Thailand
is a major hub for the international trade
in illegal freshwater turtles and tortoises,
finds a new report, Pet freshwater turtle
and tortoise trade in Chatuchak Market,
Bangkok, Thailand, launched today by TRAFFIC,
the wildlife monitoring network, a joint
programme of WWF and IUCN.
Surveys of Chatuchak
Market (also known as the JJ or Weekend
Market) by TRAFFIC investigators found that
25 out of 27 freshwater turtles and tortoises
species for sale were non-native, the vast
majority of them illegally imported into
the country.
“Dealers stated openly
that many specimens were smuggled into and
out of Thailand,” said Chris R. Shepherd,
Senior Programme Officer for TRAFFIC Southeast
Asia. “They even offered potential buyers
advice on how to smuggle reptiles through
customs and onto aeroplanes.”
The most commonly observed
species at Chatuchak Market was the Radiated
Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata), a species
endemic to Madagascar and listed in Appendix
I of CITES (the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora), meaning that all commercial
international trade in Radiated Tortoises
is prohibited. Of the total of 786 freshwater
turtles and tortoises on sale, more than
a third, 285, were listed in Appendix I
of CITES. Of these, 269 were Radiated Tortoises.
Buyers from other parts
of Asia, particularly Japan, Malaysia and
Singapore, are known to purchase and smuggle
home large numbers of freshwater turtles
and tortoises from the dealers in Chatuchak
Market for retail in their respective countries.
Dealers were heard urging
potential buyers to purchase the most endangered
species because of their rarity value.
“It is a sad day when
people use a species’s risk of extinction
as a selling point,” said Dr Jane Smart,
Head of IUCN’s Species Programme. “We urge
governments and law enforcement agencies
use the information contained in the IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species to stop this
kind of behaviour before it is too late.”
Following disclosure
of the report’s findings, Royal Thai Police
raided Chatuchak market earlier this month
and seized a wide variety of illegal wildlife,
including 18 Radiated Tortoises and 3 Ploughshare
Tortoises (A. yniphora). The Ploughshare
is considered the world’s rarest tortoise—and
all international trade is prohibited.
“We congratulate the
Royal Thai Police on their recent raid,”
says Shepherd. “But recent information indicates
the illegal trade continues, and we encourage
the authorities to keep the pressure on.”
“The Thai authorities
must continue these efforts to stem the
illegal trade in these endangered species—as
should other governments and their enforcement
authorities. This illegal trade in freshwater
turtles and tortoises is well organized,
and must be tackled in an organized fashion”,
said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of the
WWF International Species Programme.
The report recommends
amending current national legislation to
close loopholes relating to the possession
of CITES-listed species. It also encourages
enforcement authorities at international
border crossings to be more vigilant in
preventing the trade in prohibited species
through Thailand, and recommends increased
co-operation with other relevant countries
to crack down on the highly organized illegal
pet freshwater turtle and tortoise trade.
Chris R. Shepherd, Senior Programme Officer
for TRAFFIC Southeast Asia
Sarah Halls, Media Relations Officer, IUCN,
NOTES
• TRAFFIC, the wildlife
trade monitoring network, works to ensure
that trade in wild plants and animals is
not a threat to the conservation of nature.
TRAFFIC is a joint programme of IUCN - the
International Union for Conservation of
Nature, and WWF, the global conservation
organization.
