US F&W Seeks CITES LISTING for Snapping Turtles, 3 Softshells: Do you Agree?

bronxzoofrank

New Member
Messages
270
Location
NY
Hi, Frank Indiviglio here. I’m a herpetologist, zoologist, and book author, recently retired from a career spent at several zoos, aquariums, and museums, including over 20 years with the Bronx Zoo
The US Fish & Wildlife Service is currently (December, 2014) seeking Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) protection for the Common Snapping Turtle and the Florida, Spiny, and Smooth Softshell Turtles. Each is being collected from the wild in ever increasing numbers and exported to Asian food and medicinal markets. With so many Asian species having been decimated by over-collection (please see article below), pressure on US species will surely increase. While several of the turtles involved are perceived to be common, recent export figures are grim. For example, approximately 2,178,000 live, wild-caught Snapping Turtles were exported from the USA between 2009 and 2011 (this excludes processed meat and eggs). Read the rest of this article here CITES Listing Sought for Snapping Turtles, 3 Softshells: Do You Agree?
Please also check out my posts on Twitter http://bitly.com/JP27Nj and Facebook http://on.fb.me/KckP1m

My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with: That Pet Place Welcomes Frank Indiviglio | That Reptile Blog

Best Regards, Frank
 

Kristi23

Ghoulish Geckos
Messages
16,181
Location
IL
I think that there needs to be something done if the numbers are low. I know in IL, you can catch snapping turtles with a fishing license. But I've still never seen one in the wild and I live in an area with a lot of lakes and rivers. I lived on water for 10+ years, too.
 

bronxzoofrank

New Member
Messages
270
Location
NY
I think that there needs to be something done if the numbers are low. I know in IL, you can catch snapping turtles with a fishing license. But I've still never seen one in the wild and I live in an area with a lot of lakes and rivers. I lived on water for 10+ years, too.

Thanks for the info on Il regs..states vary so much in this regard, which is one of the reasons why monitoring of trade would be useful. being entirely aquatic, snappers may be common and remain unseen or rare...difficult to know w/o a detailed record of numbers caught, etc. Happy, healthy holidays. Frank
 

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