David S. Lee & Liao Shi
David S. Lee & Liao Shi Kun One must also keep in mind that the cultural use of turtles for the purported traditional health and medical benefits is also a major business. Chinese attitudes toward conservation vs. profit, combined with the country’s growing population, negates any serious interest in curbing the current economic beliefs derived from turtles, or attempts to obtain ecological sustainability in native turtle populations. The recent growing number of turtle farms has masked turtle conservation concerns as people incorrectly assume the farming of mass numbers of Red-eared Sliders and other common nonnative turtles will help eliminate the demand placed on wild native stocks (Shi & Parham 2001, Shi et al. 2008, Liao & Lee 2013). It appears that the commercial farming operations have only expanded the demand (Shi et al. 2007). The turtle conservation issues created continue to grow due to a near lack of public concerns and government intervention (Meng et al. 2000) as well as engrained cultural attitudes. Realistically cultural and economic considerations are not likely to change even in the distant future. Keep in mind China’s population is 1.3 billion. Both its population and economy continue to grow. For many species of turtles their continued survival is now in the hands of China’s emerging economy. That said, China represents a vast untapped market for prescription drugs and other tested modern medicines. Perhaps profit driven investments by the pharmaceutical industry will one day result in indirect long-term benefits to the Chinese people as well as turtle conservation. The wide spread use of the Internet presents the opportunity to educate the general populace about modern medicines as well the growing conservation needs of the country’s indigenous iconic fauna. With the right level of private sector and government dedication this could all be turned about rather quickly. Post Script: This contribution is not about pointing fingers or mocking issues related to China’s culture. If by chance readers think that there is some superior level between the comparative conservation priorities of Eastern and Western cultures there probably is, but just think for a moment as to what the Western world annually spends just on hair care products. With this level of funding alone most of our global concerns regarding exploitation and habitat needs of wildlife could be quickly resolved. As for ageing parents, many too would perhaps best benefit from a loving child’s kiss. Acknowledgements We thank Torsten Blanck (Deutschlandsberg, Austria) for making available the photographs for this paper. References Anonymous (ca. 3,000 BC): Book of Change. Chen C. S. (2006): Soft-shelled turtles and fish drug residues. – http:// news.xinhuanet.com/food/2006-02/12/ content 4168325.htm (Download: 30.03.2011). China Central Television (1995): A turtle has led to bankruptcy. – Topics in Focus, 15.03.1995. Hong M., Shi H., Fu L., Gong S., J. J. Fong & J. F. Parham (2008): Scientific refutation of traditional Chinese 28 RADIATA 23 (2), 2014
Turtles in Traditional Chinese Medicine medicine claims about turtles. – Applied Herpetology, Leiden, 5 (2): 173–187. Li, S. Z. (1578): Compendium of Materia Medica. 53 vol. (in Chinese). Liao Shi Kun & D. S. Lee (2013): Turtles Without Passports. Red-eared Sliders come to China. – Radiata (English edition), Leipzig, 22 (1): 35–53. Lin, F. Y. (2003): DYI drinks of the turtle urine. – Guangzhou Daily, Guangzhou, 02.09.2003, http://news. sohu.com/48/64/news212756448.shml (Download: 30.03.2011). Liu. H. & Ma. Z. 973-974 AD. Kai Bao Materia Medica. Meng, X., Z. Zhou & B. L. Stuart (2000): Recent actions by the People’s Republic of China to better control international trade of turtles. – Turtle and Tortoise Newsletter, Lunenburg, 5: 15–16. She Y. (2005): Hormone food led to the industry recession. – Chutian Metropolis Daily, Wuhan, 23.11.2005, www.cnhubei.com/200511/ ca930840.htm (Download: 30.03.2011). Shi H & J. F. Parham (2001): Preliminary observations of a large scale turtle farm in Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China. – Turtle and Tortoise Newsletter, Lunenburg, 3: 2–4. Shi H., J. F. Parham, M. Lau & C. Tien-Hsi (2007): Farming endangered turtles to extinction in China. – Conservation Biology, 21 (1): 5–6. Shi H., J. F. Parham, F. Zhiyong, Hong M. & Yin F. (2008): Evidence for the massive scale of turtle farming in China. – Oryx, Cambridge, 42 (1): 147–150. Wen Z. R. (2010):. The use of prohibited drugs to feeding turtles, farms to be punished. – Southern Metropolis Daily, Guangzhou, 22.11.2010, http://news.gd.sina.com. cn/news/2010/11/22/1052364 (Download: 30.03.2011). Wu S. (2010): Use of potassium permanganate forged wild soft-shelled turtle. – Yangzi Evening News, Nanjing, 27.02.2010, http://news.sina.com. cn/s/2010-02-27/034719749349.shtml (Download: 30.03.2011). Zhou Q. (2007): What Kind of God: A survey of current food safety of China’s food. – Baogao Wenxue (Reportage Literature). Zhu Z. (2010): Turtle farm in black smoke, the environmental protection department inspections. – South Lake Evening News, 24.11.2010, http://zjnews.zjol.com.cn/05znews/ system/2010/11/24/017113742.shtml (Download: 30.03.2011). Authors David S. Lee The Tortoise Reserve, Inc (www.tortoisereserve.org) 1879 White Lake Drive, Box 7092, White Lake, North Carolina 28337 USA E-Mail: torresinc@aol.com Liao Shi Kun ( 廖 世 昆 ) E-Mail: chozhe@163.com (The address is known to the publishers.) RADIATA 23 (2), 2014 29
