CITES CoP18 ends; among many amendments made, 5 turtle species moved from Appendix II to Appendix I
(You can see the entire list of decisions made regarding proposals here)
“The Conference revised the trade rules for dozens of wildlife species that are threatened by unstainable trade linked to overharvesting, overfishing or overhunting. These ranged from commercially valuable fish and trees to charismatic mammals such as giraffes to amphibians and reptiles sold as exotic pets.
…Because the growing exotic pet trade has put enormous pressure on many species of turtle, lizard and gecko, CITES added a range of these species to the Appendices.”
List of turtles moved from Appendix II to Appendix I:
1) Bourret’s box turtle (Cuora bourreti)
2) Vietnamese box turtle (Cuora picturata)
3) Star tortoise (Geochelone elegans)
4) Pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri)
5) Annam leaf turtle (Mauremys annamensis)
Turtle News From Around the World
Crime & Punishment
Cayman Islands: 2 arrested on suspicion of poaching and drug trafficking, green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) shell and meat found during raid
Miscellany
UK: after numerous reports of beached animals, leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) spotted off Welsh coast alive and well (VIDEO)
New Research
Marine mammals and sea turtles listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act are recovering
Phylogeography of the East African Serrated Hinged Terrapin Pelusios sinuatus (Smith, 1838) and resurrection of Sternothaerus bottegi Boulenger, 1895 as a subspecies of P. sinuatus
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Photo from Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
