Green Daily

Chinese and Chinese Americans are eating their way through the world's turtle population. In the name of sex drive and good health an increasingly well-off Chinese population is devouring turtles from around the world, including the U.S.

The demand for turtle meat is so great that turtle populations in Taiwan, China, Laos and Vietnam have largely been wiped out. So Floridians have come to the rescue. In particular, softshell turtles are being shipped to Los Angeles for sale in the Chinatown markets and in China itself.

An inspector with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Los Angeles says approximately 800 turtles a week are going through customs on their way to China and Hong Kong. That's just on one coast. Turtles are also being shipped through the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast.

Ten years ago the demand for turtles was estimated to be 30,000 a day. That demand has grown, but no estimates are available for how much.

In Florida, regulations on catching and selling turtles have been absent until very recently. Enforcement is another problem. Estimates on Florida's softshell turtle population vary widely, from four to 20 million. Since the species is not yet endangered federal law doesn't yet protect it from hunting. Nor does it impede any buyer in California or China from buying.

In fact, turtle is on the menu at many Chinese restaurants in California. And it's all in the name, of sexual prowess, longevity and more money in someone's wallet.

[LA Times]