A total of 3,676 freshwater turtles in
three species were seized on 16 July, 2015 in a residence in Taoyuang City in
northern Taiwan by the Second Tainan Grigate of the of the Southern Coastal
Patrol Office of the Coast Guard Administration (CGA). All three species are
protected under Taiwan’s Wildlife Conservation Act and regulated by the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wid Fauna and Flora
(CITES).
Among the turtles seized were 2,286
yellow-margined box turtles (Cuora flavomarginata), 920 yellow pond turtles
(Mauremys mutica), and 469 Chinese pond turtles (Mauremys reevesii). In
addition, 14 snakes, 5 pangolins, and over half a ton of lumbar belonging to
two endemic Taiwan species were also confiscated.
The Coast Guard received information on the
intended smuggling of these protected species through fishing boats to be sold
in China. The wildlife and lumbar were hunted illegally throughout Taiwan and
were stored in the warehouse inside the suspect’s residence in Taoyuang.
Over the past 10 years, the yellow-margined
box turtle had been a favorite target for smuggling from Taiwan and over 6,000
turtles were seized during the period. The number of yellow pond turtles found
in confiscated cases only increased significantly in the past two years. These
turtles are not intended for food or medicinal use as previously reported, and
are traded as commodity by Chinese, especially in the southern provinces.
Pangolins are being hunted illegally in
South Asian countries and in African countries and numerous seizures were
reported in recent years. Previously, pangolin poaching in Taiwan was reported
only sparingly (which is also a protected species in Taiwan), and were for
local consumption. This is the first case in which the pangolins were intended
for exporting!
Lowland forests and streams in Taiwan are
the natural habitats for the box turtlle and the yellow pond turtle,
respectively. The ant-eating pangolin is found throughout the island from sea
level to over 2,000 meters in elevation. Poaching has surpassed habitat
destruction to become the most serious threat for these species in Taiwan.
2015.7.16 shwu
