Thank you for bringing this issue to light. The Midwest PARC (Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation) recently discussed this issue at the September meeting. Specifically, in many states there is no "season" for turtles, which makes nesting females an easy target. Midwest PARC discussed not only a bag limit, but also placing a season on turtles to avoid the capture of reproducing animals. In many of these midwest states, turtles are legal to capture with a valid fishing license. Clearly, limiting harvest by placing the same restrictions that are in place for many other vertebrates (deer, turkey, etc) would be a huge step in decreasing the loss of these animals and increasing the number of recruits into the population.
I suggest that if you are interested in this, you contact your regional PARC as other regions may have similar initiatives. The national link is: http://www.parcplace.org/. From this website, you can be directed to your local PARC representatives. Lori Neuman-Lee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lori Neuman-Lee Eastern Illinois University, M.S. 2010 Iowa State University, B.S. Biology 2007 Iowa State University, B.S. English 2008 lorin...@gmail.com On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 10:43 PM, Michael E. Welker <herp...@cox.net> wrote: > All, > > Amphibians are not declining due to harvest. There is a simple fix to > turtle over-harvest and that is bag limits. Under no circumstances do we > want to pass banning legislation, prevent sustainable harvest, inhibit > captive propagation or ban commercial sales. Let's not knee jerk and go > Animal Rights on all the breeders, collectors and dealers who are preserving > gene pools in captivity and collecting in a sustainable manner. And doing > this out of their own pocket. Especially since we are doing virtually > nothing about habitat destruction, the impacts of roads and human population > growth. > > Someone could make some good money ranching turtles but if they are banned > that won't happen. We don't want to protect them into extinction. > > It is time to get away from the banning agenda and come up with win/win > regulations. If game and fish doesn't want to do its job then they need to > be restructured and allocate funding differently. The time for excuses is > done and private hobbyists and business owners are tired of banning > regulations as the "supposed" solution. It is time to open your mind. > > Mike Welker > El Paso, TX > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jorge Ramos" < > jramo...@u.washington.edu> > To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU> > Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 11:32 AM > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] 1/26 N.Y. Times Editorial on Wild Turtle Trade, > > > > Amphibians have been experiencing a similar situation. A couple of days ago > there was a news report by the BBC about a study coming out in Conservation > Biology by Corey Bradshaw and others. The numbers are alarming and the > images and their captions are interesting. > > Thanks Andrea for the heads up to this link: > http://news.<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > bbc <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm>.co.< > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > uk <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > /2/hi/science/nature/7845306.< > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > stm <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > > Jorge > > -- > Jorge Ramos > Graduate Student > College of Forest Resources > University of Washington > Box 352100 > Seattle, WA 98195 > http://www.ecojorgeramos.com/ > jramo...@u.washington.edu > > > On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 6:53 AM, asalzb...@herpdigest.org < > asalzb...@herpdigest.org> wrote: > > THE NEW YORK TIMES >> EDITORIAL >> Eating the Wild >> Published on-line January 25, 2009 >> Printed in January 26, 2009 edition >> In America, there are foragers among us, out searching for morels in >> the spring, and there are hunters too. Yet most of our food, except >> for fish caught from the sea, is farmed. We do not trap songbirds for >> savory pies. (We destroy too many of them through other means.) >> >> Once you look beyond the parochial culinary habits of most Americans >> you discover that wildness, and the tastes associated with it, have a >> talismanic power that is very hard to eradicate. It is what keeps the >> Japanese whaling and keeps some Africans eating bush meat. And it is >> one of the things that helps explain the voracious and utterly >> destructive Chinese appetite for turtles. >> >> As global wealth rises, so does global consumption of meat, which >> includes wild meat. Turtle meat used to be a rare delicacy in the >> Asian diet, but no longer. China, along with Hong Kong and Taiwan, has >> vacuumed the wild turtles out of most of Southeast Asia. Now, >> according to a recent report in The Los Angeles Times, they are >> consuming common soft-shell turtles from the American Southeast, >> especially Florida, at an alarming rate. >> >> Some scientists estimate that two-thirds of the tortoise and >> freshwater turtle species on the planet are seriously threatened. Some >> of that is secondhand damage — loss of habitat, water pollution, >> climate change. But far too many turtles are being lost to the fork >> and the spoon. >> >> In the United States, the solution is relatively straightforward. >> States should impose much tighter restrictions on the harvesting and >> export of wild turtles. Internationally, the problem is more >> complicated. There have been efforts to monitor the species of wild >> turtles found in Chinese markets, but as long as the appetite for >> turtles — and traditional medicines derived from them — persists, we >> fear it will be hard to curtail such a profitable and disastrous trade. >> >> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/opinion/26mon4.html?_r=1 >> >> Allen Salzberg >> >> HerpDigest.org: The Only Free Weekly E-Zine That Reports on >> The Latest News on Herpetological Conservation and Science >> www.HerpDigest.org >> >> HerpArts.com >> Gifts for Herp Lovers: Reptile and Amphibian Jewelry, Art, Toys for >> Adults >> And Kids, Decorative Items for the House and So Much More >> www.HerpArts.com >> >> -
