Wild Pets and Laboratory Animals: Land Turtle and Tortoise Pets Endangered Species Handbook

Trade

Wild Pets and Laboratory Animals: Land Turtle and Tortoise Pets

In Europe there is a sizeable market for pet tortoises and land turtles. The Mediterranean area--Greece, the Mideast and North Africa--provided millions of tortoises for decades. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) investigated this trade in the 1970s and found a mortality rate of more than 80 percent in the first year of captivity (RSPCA 1980). A 1982 study found that 92 percent of 2,000 tortoises imported did not survive more than three years in captivity (Fitzgerald 1989). The number of tortoises involved was astounding--almost 2 million Spur-thighed Tortoises (Testudo graeca) were imported for the British pet trade between 1965 and 1977 (RSPCA 1980). More than 350,000 Hermann's Tortoises (Testudo hermanni), native to the northern Mediterranean, were imported during the same period (RSPCA 1980), and this species was categorized by the IUCN in 2000 as Near-Threatened (Baillie and Groombridge 1996). A species from Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and other countries of Central Asia, Horsfield's Tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii), has been collected in enormous numbers; 150,000 per year are taken from the wild, with nearly 100,000 exported to western Europe (Fitzgerald 1989). It is now listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. All these species have declined precipitously in the wild (Fitzgerald 1989), and these slow-reproducing species rarely rebound quickly, even after receiving protection.

Because of the heavy exploitation of these land tortoises for the pet trade, the entire genus Testudo was placed on Appendix II of CITES in 1975, but this scarcely slowed the trade. Some import restrictions were enacted in 1979 by the United Kingdom, and internal trade and possession of Spur-thighed, Hermann's and Marginated Tortoises became prohibited under the 1982 Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Fitzgerald 1989). However, these measures served only to slow the trade. A major development occurred when the European Economic Commission (EEC) banned imports of all three species in 1984. Hermann's Tortoises are not fully protected, however. They have been sold in California for $525 each (Fitzgerald 1989). Hundreds of protected Sri Lankan Ceylon Star Tortoises (Testudo elegans) were smuggled to an Australian animal dealer in the early 1980s (Fitzgerald 1989). In 1984, the only record for Horsfield's Tortoise trade was 18,000 shipped to Italy from Turkey (Fitzgerald 1989). Trade has switched to Egyptian Tortoises (Testudo kleinmanni), native to Egypt, Libya and Israel. This species is now one of the most threatened of Old World tortoises, listed as Endangered by the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This is the smallest of the Testudo tortoises, only 6 inches in length, and is now being exploited only because the other species have reached near extinction.

Bolson's Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus), native to a small remnant habitat in northern Mexico, has been decimated by the pet trade and is now listed as Endangered by the U.S. Endangered Species Act to stop imports of these tortoises across the border into the United States. The South American Chaco Tortoise (Geochelone chilensis) was imported from Argentina and Paraguay by European traders in the 1980s, prompting Argentina to prohibit exports in 1986 (Fitzgerald 1989).

Following the depletions of the Mediterranean tortoises, the European pet trade began exploitation of North American box turtles, genus Terrapene. Terrapin turtles occur in eastern North America and northern Mexico. Box turtles are about 4 to 5 inches long, with yellow geometric patterns on a black background on their shells and bodies. They spend the majority of their lives on land, and the most familiar of these, the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina), lives in moist deciduous forests and grasslands. The Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) inhabits grasslands and dryer areas, and the endangered Coahuilan Box Turtle (Terrapene coahuila) is strictly aquatic and lives only in the Cuatro Cienegas basin in northern Mexico. Until the early 1990s, the Eastern and Ornate Box Turtles were quite common, although declining from fragmentation and development of their habitat and losses from road traffic and lawn mowers. More than 3,000 Eastern Box turtles were exported from the United States in 1990 to pet dealers in Europe and Japan, and exports increased exponentially thereafter. Records show that at least 13,585 Eastern Box Turtles were exported in 1991; 26,361 in 1992; and 23,420 in 1993, for a minimum total of 66,366 for the four years. Ornate Box Turtle exports also increased, from 7,018 in 1992 to 7,768 in 1993 (IUCN 1994). Thus, at least 78,152 of these two species of box turtle were exported in these four years alone; they are sold in European pet stores for $100 or more (Lieberman 1994). Herpetologists have been shocked at the numbers of box turtles involved in this trade, and Dr. Michael W. Klemens of the Wildlife Conservation Society said that the pressure from the collection of these turtles is "just disastrous" and "if it continues at the present rate, it is not sustainable" (Stevens 1994).

England has been a major market, as it was for the Mediterranean tortoises. "The British have always been turtle crazy," said Dr. Klemens. The irony is that the English are animal lovers, and yet many apparently fail to realize that the deaths in captivity of these long-lived turtles are a direct result of their captive conditions, improper food and treatment, and that purchasing them contributes to the turtles' endangerment. The Fish and Wildlife Service requested information from scientists and government agencies on North American box turtle status prior to the 1994 CITES meeting and documented that both the Eastern and Ornate Box Turtles are rapidly disappearing as a result of this trade.

Declines have already been recorded for these box turtles in 16 U.S. states, from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey south to Florida and west to Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin (Liebermen 1994). Many states protect them from capture, and illegal trade has resulted in more than 20 arrests (Lieberman 1994). State regulations differ greatly, making conservation of the species difficult. In Florida, for example, one may possess two box turtles, Virginia allows capture of five turtles, and Mississippi as many as 20. At least 17 of the 28 states where box turtles are found prohibit or regulate commercial trade. In states without regulations, turtles can be possessed, sold or shipped out of state. Suzanne Dohm, President of the New York Turtle and Tortoise Society, which has begun a program of conservation for these turtles, expressed frustration at the legal loopholes allowing these species to decline toward extinction: "That foreign market is absolutely draining us. You can't buy a box turtle legally in New York State, but you can ship thousands of them out of Kennedy Airport. We cry about saving animals, and yet we let situations like this go on. Something's not quite right" (Stevens 1994). Based on information gathered, the United States proposed that the entire genus Terrapene be listed on Appendix II, which the CITES Parties did in November 1994. This listing is meant to prevent further overexploitation, since Appendix II requires that exports not be detrimental to the wild populations of a species.

The State of Louisiana applied in 1996 to export two subspecies of the Eastern Box Turtle--Gulf Coast Box Turtles (Terrapenne carolina major) and Three-toed Box Turtles (Terrapenne carolina major). Fortunately, the U.S. CITES Office of Scientific Authority recommended a zero quota for U.S. exports. Herpetologists have determined from studies of the closely related Ornate Box Turtle that long-term population declines result if total annual adult mortality exceeds 5 percent, according to the Office of Scientific Authority. Moreover, the Authority determined that domestic trade in Louisiana totaled 9,500 Gulf Coast Box Turtles, and 3,800 Three-toed Box Turtles, a significant local market. The high proportion of adults that were collected, and the very slow reproductive potential of the species, led the Scientific Authority to conclude that insufficient information on the Louisiana population exists to allow export that would not result in depletions. They, therefore, recommended a zero quota on exports of North American box turtles, an important step in preserving these animals. The lack of long-term studies showing that these turtles can be collected without harming their wild populations is another argument against the trade.

Added to the declines in wild populations is the cruel treatment these turtles receive. Many die or are greatly weakened when jammed together without food or water for shipping. A Fish and Wildlife Service inspector at Kennedy Airport in New York described their condition, "What we've been seeing is very large numbers in shipments, 1,000 or more, sometimes 2,000 box turtles going to Europe in horrible condition, kept in wet burlap sacks and cardboard boxes in their own excrement, with no food or water" (Stevens 1994). Article IV of CITES requires that the Management Authority of the export country must be satisfied that "any living specimen will be so prepared and shipped as to minimise the risk of injury, damage to health or cruel treatment." This cannot be assured under U.S. law, since no legislation exists that requires humane treatment of reptiles or amphibians in shipment. The Humane and Healthful Transport of Mammals and Birds regulations of the Lacey Act should be expanded to include reptiles and amphibians.

Box turtles, like many land turtles and tortoises, can live very long lives, and a female box turtle typically takes a half century or more to produce just two offspring (Stevens 1994). According to Dr. Klemens, box turtles reproduce for 50 years or more, and one is said to have died at the age of 138 (Stevens 1994). This slow reproduction explains why their populations suffer immediate declines when exploited.

Trade in Radiated and Plowshare Tortoises, two of the most endangered species in the world, native to Madagascar, is discussed in the Islands chapter.