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New guidebook released to control illegal tortoise trade
African spurred tortoise / Gettyimagesbank
By Ko Dong-hwan
By Ko Dong-hwan
Some 303,000 endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles were illegally traded worldwide between 2000 and 2015, putting the already dwindling number of these reptiles under further threat of extinction. In 2022 the situation hasn't improved much, witnessed by the ongoing trade of various products made of the animals.
To protect these creatures, the Korean government has joined a global movement by publishing a translated version of a new guidebook that instructs people about how to identify endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles that might have been used in in the manufacture of certain products.
The National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR), under the Ministry of Environment, on Jan. 13 started distributing to customs services and related governmental bureaus nationwide the “Identification Guide to Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles: Parts, Products and Derivatives in Trade.” It was originally published in 2021 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international agreement between governments that has been joined by 184 parties as of this month.
The guidebook came at a time of growing danger for the reptiles ― among the 348 known species of tortoises and turtles globally, 182 have been designated by CITES as endangered, including African spurred tortoises and pig-nosed turtles. The global trade of products that rely on killing such animals has been rampant, with over 780,000 such products caught during 2000-2015.
The reptiles' bones, hides, shells, eggs, meats and calipees can be used in manufacturing decorative goods, fashion items, foods or medicines. The guidebook shows how to distinguish endangered reptiles that could have been used in those products by carefully examining their appearance.
This medicinal pill product's ingredient information indicates that 20 percent is from golden coin turtles, endemic to southern China. The International Union for Conservation of Nature labelled the species as "critically endangered." Screenshot from the “Identification Guide to Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles: Parts, Products and Derivatives in Trade”
For decorative goods that use shells of tortoises or freshwater turtles, how the parts look or feel when touching them can give a hint as to which species they belong to. For products that use hides, such as bags or boots, how the scales are arranged can also distinguish items as being made from turtles or tortoises. For medicinal powders made from the reptiles, since it is impossible to distinguish these from their appearance, the most useful hints can be found from the detailed product information on the packaging.
If examining visibly tangible clues don't lead anywhere, the guidebook advises people to contact the Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics in Sydney or the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Zurich, Switzerland for further assistance.
If a product is found to be made from an endangered tortoise or freshwater turtle, its trader must report it to a local environmental government agency and acquire a permit for trading. For medicinal products, they require an approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Trading those products without such permits can result in maximum penalties of a three year-jail term or a 30 million won ($25,000) fine.
“We hope this guidebook will warn people about illegal trade and contribute to conserving the endangered tortoises and turtles,” said Choi Jong-won, the chief of the biological and genetic resources utilization division under the NIBR. “Our organization will continue supporting CITES' scientific execution of their policies by securing as much data about internationally endangered species as possible and sharing them with the public.”
Korea joined CITES in 1993. The convention's final text was agreed to by the 80 member states of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Washington, D.C., in 1973, before entering into force two years later.