Demand rises Turtles are eaten as a luxury by rich people, especially in south east Asia, while the poor, in countries like Madagascar and Mexico, use them as subsistence food. The Asian trade is driven by growing demand from China, with its ancient traditions of using turtles both for food and as medicine. Dr Mittermeier said what was being done in the name of tradition now threatened the survival of a globally important group of animals, and the use of turtles should be stopped. Scientists frequently see turtles rarely spotted in the wild on sale in markets and restaurants. They think several Chinese species discovered within the last two decades may already be extinct.
China imports large numbers of turtles from Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
And the USA, where many species have little or no protection, exports more than seven million turtles annually, as pets or for food. The pressure is especially acute for freshwater turtles, according to Dr Peter Pritchard, director of the Chelonian Research Institute. While many people are aware that sea turtles are endangered, few realise that many freshwater turtles and tortoises, several with very restricted geographic ranges, face an even more critical situation. Only one freshwater species is known to have become extinct this century, a small mud turtle from Mexico, though human exploitation has consigned to history many giant tortoises on oceanic islands. Large, slow-growing river turtles are of particular concern, with large females at special risk.