Over 60% of Turtles in Japan are Foreign Species

It has become clear that more than 60 percent of all turtles in the country are species that have been imported as pets, according to a recent study. The research also showed that the number of Japanese Pond Turtles, a species once quite common, accounts for less than 10 percent of all turtles.

The Nature Conservation Society of Japan (NACS-J), an incorporated foundation, conducted a survey called "Nature Research 2003 - Turtle Finding Tour Across Japan" in July and August 2003. NACS-J collected information from this survey on a total of 5,966 turtles from 802 sites in 46 prefectures.

The largest number of turtles found by the survey were Red-eared Sliders, which accounted for 60 percent of all turtles collected. The Red-eared Slider originally comes from North America: called the Midori-game (lit. "green turtle") in Japanese, it is sold at pet shops in Japan. Following far behind in the number of turtles found were two native species, Reeve's Turtle and the Japanese Pond Turtle, about 20 percent and less than 10 percent respectively. The Japanese Pond Turtle is listed as a threatened species in some areas.

Based on these result, NACS-J submitted a public comment to the Ministry of the Environment, calling for the introduction of a licensing system for animal importers and a ban on the import of species that are likely to cause damage.



Posted: 2004/02/04 09:06:47 PM
Japanese version