The great turtle rescue.

ZOOQUARIA 107:  22-23.

Aus dem Inhalt: 

On 11 December 2001, during a joint operation of the Customs Ship Search and Cargo Command and the Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department,  about 10,000 live South East Asiatic turtles were seized in Hong Kong. The shipment, originally destined for the Chinese food market, had an estimated market value of $3.2 million. The conservation and scientific value of the confiscated animals, as well as the ethical aspects of the situation, were enormous, and incalculable in monetary terms. Turtles were placed at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Hong Kong. It was an incredible job to take care of such a quantity of mostly damaged, wounded and ill turtles. The wider international cooperation proved to be essential in reducing at least in part the suffering of the turtles. EAZA’s swift reaction and the international rescue that followed were exemplary. The superb cooperation between the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, TSA and EAZA – namely the EAZA Executive Office, ARTAG, Rotterdam Zoo and 26 other zoos in 11 countries – resulted in the successful import of 988 turtles (285 Cuora amboinensis, 126 Orlitia borneensis, 283 Heosemys spinosa, 90 Heosemys grandis, 204 Siebenrockiells crassicollis) and their consequent housing in individual zoos. During the rescue operation, which attracted a huge amount of publicity and media coverage, EAZA demonstrated its ability to carry out a complicated international operation with speed and efficiency, and we can be rightly proud of that.

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