Turtle biologists sent a letter this month to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, asking that the captive breeding of diamondback terrapins stay unlawful in the state. This matter is on the agenda for Wednesday’s FWC meeting.
Populations are in decline due to habitat loss and unintended deaths in blue crab traps, however one of their greatest threats is the world pet market.
Demand for diamondback terrapins is excessive in the U.S. and overseas, main to the trafficking of 5 subspecies residing in Florida’s wild — three of these subspecies are discovered solely in the Sunshine State. The highest sale of a single terrapin abroad has thus far been documented at $4,000, with the common worth at $2,600 per turtle in Hong Kong.
Advocates with the nonprofit United States Association of Reptile Keepers Florida despatched a proposal to the FWC for the authorized captive breeding of terrapins, arguing that supplying the commerce with captive-bred terrapins would discourage unlawful assortment of wild turtles.
Click here to read U.S. ARK’s perspective.
In response, 15 scientists sent their own letter to commissioners saying this plan is unlikely to scale back the market demand that drives unlawful terrapin trafficking and due to this fact wouldn’t be a viable conservation answer.
“Terrapins are already commercially bred in large numbers in other states, and there is no evidence to suggest that additional operations in Florida would fulfill market demand,” the letter stated.
Elise Bennett, with the Center for Biological Diversity, stated she helps the scientists.
“When you have captive bred terrapins, and they’re being sold on the market, that’s always going to create an incentive for people with bad intentions to go out into the wild and take them from the wild,” Bennett stated. “It’s just cheaper to do that. It takes many years and a lot of resources to raise a terrapin from an egg all the way to an adult.”
Bennett added that sustaining the present guidelines is the finest method to fight poaching and trafficking.
“It’s much easier for law enforcement to catch and stop these poachers, if it’s very clear that you simply can’t be breeding them or possessing them without very special permits,” Bennett stated.
New conservation rules, which took impact March, state that taking diamondback terrapins from the wild is prohibited with the exception of assortment for scientific analysis with a allow. Anyone with the turtles as pets earlier than that date may legally preserve the animals however had to get hold of a no-cost allow.
Additionally, commissioners determined that by March of 2023, all leisure blue crab traps will be required to have inflexible funnel openings no bigger than 2 x 6 inches at the narrowest level, or 2 x 6-inch bycatch discount gadgets put in. These practices can scale back incidental terrapin mortality by holding terrapins from getting into crab traps and are meant to have little affect on blue crab catch, in accordance to the FWC’s website.
The 15 scientists and Bennett additionally help the FWC staff’s recommendation to keep present rules that prohibit captive breeding of diamondback terrapins.
The workers report stated they solicited enter via a questionnaire and two public webinars focusing on stakeholders. Input “was mixed with potential breeders favoring creating a commercial market and non-breeder participants voicing concern over enforcement and oversight of that market.”
“Given the species’ vulnerable life history traits in Florida, coupled with the potential risk of increased harm to native populations through impacts of collection pressure, demand, and contributing to illicit turtle trade, staff recommends the current rules remain unchanged,” in accordance to the memo from Melissa Tucker, director of habitat and species conservation, and Col. Roger Young, regulation enforcement, to the fee.
Public feedback will be accepted in-person throughout the subsequent FWC assembly, which is open to the public.
- What: FWC assembly on the captive breeding of diamondback terrapin
- When: Nov 30, 2022 at 8:30 am
- Where: Bluegreen’s Bayside Resort and Spa, 4144 Jan Cooley Dr., Panama City, 32408
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