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An increased appetite for turtle-based cuisine in many Asian countries has doubled the number of freshwater turtle species on the endangered list in just the past decade, according to NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM.
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9/30 – Clausen vs. the Green Meanies Those Seattle protesters dressed in turtle costumes may have had the cause of the little reptiles’ decline right: it’s globalization. When Chinese currency came into use in other Asian countries in 1989, the Chinese freshwater turtle trade expanded exponentially. Now three quarters of Asia’s freshwater turtles are officially threatened, and half are facing imminent extinction. Meanwhile, however, conservation activists continue to focus on threats to less-hard-pressed sea turtles.
