Today I have been asked to give a short presentation on the turtle market in the UK. This will be something of a whirlwind tour and will start with th

Transcription

1 Thank you for inviting me here today. My name is Chris Newman and I chair the Reptile & Exotic Pet Trade Association (REPTA) which represents the reptile trade and industy, the Federation of British Herpetologists (FBH) which represents hobbyists and clubs and societies. This may seem a conflict but actually the industry and the hobby are intertwined and having a foot in each camp is invaluable in understanding all of the issues. Both the hobby and industry have grown substantially over the past two decades and still continues to grow. In % of all pet shops were licenced to sell reptiles and by 2014 this had increased to 47%. The recession has impacted the trade and today we are not seeing the growth we once were, although overall the industry is still positive grown and overall we expect a growth of about 8% this year. 1

2 Today I have been asked to give a short presentation on the turtle market in the UK. This will be something of a whirlwind tour and will start with the basics: Turtles, or terrapins as we normally call them in the UK, have been around for a very long time, evolving just before the first dinosaurs some 220 million years ago in the mid Triassic. Not many vertebrate taxa evolved before the dinosaurs and still exist today, so they are clearly very resilient. They belong to an order of reptiles the Testudines, also referred to as chelonians, of which some 400 plus species can be found on every continent accept Antarctica. There is some confusion over terminology, but to be simplistic tortoises are terrestrial species, terrapins live in fresh water and turtles live in the ocean. In the USA everything is referred to as a turtle and that trend has tended to creep into the UK. 2

3 The market for and popularity of turtles in the UK is very different from that in Europe, for reasons that are not entirely clearthe market sector worldwide is significantly larger than it is here. The numbers sold annually in the UK are, however, significant as in ,000 turtles were imported via Heathrow alone. Total imports, including intercommunity trade, exceeded 50,000 last year. Throughout Europe the bulk of imports are by the aquatics industry, not the reptile trade, largely due to freight rates, and in the UK this accounts for 95% of imports. The bulk of imports are still sliders Trachemys spp. and cooters Pseudemys spp., which is an issue I will revisit. One of the biggest threats to chelonians is the demand for turtles in Asia for food, traditional medicine etc. and ironically the largest turtle farms are now no longer in the USA but China. 3

4 In my view is the biggest mistake the pet trade made and continues to make is the mass importation of baby sliders and cooters. This has obviously been an issue for a long time but the issue industry has been reluctant to address the problem which is most disappointing. The demand for baby sliders is generally attributed to the cartoon characters Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles, which first appeared in comic books and later on TV and films gaining considerable worldwide success. The first animated series ran from and between 1989 and 1997 over 52 million baby turtles were exported from the USA. In 1997 the EU banned the importation of red-eared sliders Trachemys scripta elegans. The problem is that sliders are the wrong species, imported for the wrong reasons and frequently kept in the wrong environment, such as the plastic bowl & palm tree. History may be in danger of repeating itself as on the 17 th of October the new Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles movie launches in the UK. 4

5 Baby sliders and cooters are not the only inappropriate species for the mass trade, hatchling soft-shelled turtles and snapping are unarguably cute, but not quite so cute when adult. All of these species can make good pets for specialist keepers, but they are not suitable for the mass or general trade. Soft-shells are farmed for human consumption and are, thus, available very cheaply. Importers and retailers are tempted to seize the opportunity to offer something extremely cute at an attractive price for customers without thought to the long term suitability of the animal for the average keeper. 5

6 I firmly believe we should be promoting turtles as pets in a responsible manner by promoting suitable species with sufficient information to enable the customer to make an informed choice. The turtle market is one off the least developed part of the reptile trade in the UK and with an increasing range of superb equipment available today there is a real opportunity for the astute retailer. There are a number of issues affecting the turtle trade in the UK, not least of which is the Invasive Alien Species Regulations passed by the EU in May of this year. This will create a list of species that are banned from importation, trade and possession. As yet we don t know what will be on the list but it is probable that species already banned from importation, such as the red-eared slider, will form the starting point. The list will enacted in January 2015 and come into effect January 2016, so time is short for industy to implement measures. This presents industry a real challenge, so we need to turn a negative into a positive. Currently the red-eared slider Trachemys scripta elegans is banned from importation into the EU, but bizarrely other subspecies are permitted. The yellow-bellied slider Trachemys scripta scripta is now arguably the most commonly imported turtle in the UK and if Trachemys scripta is listed at species level there will be problems for the trade and for the hundreds of 6

7 thousands of people who currently keep them. The popularity of sliders and cooters is largely due to availability and price, they are significantly cheaper than more appropriate species such as musk turtles. The mass inappropriate trade in sliders and cooters, and the resultant dumping into ponds, rivers and canals when animals grew too large or were no longer wanted, is a very visible problem which will inevitably lead to their inclusion under the IAS regulations. Ironically, none of these species could breed and thus become invasive species in the UK, but they can survive and are visible. My recommendation would be that the industry is proactive in introducing a voluntary moratorium of importation and trade of baby sliders, cooters, snappers and soft-shells for one year. I think it is inevitable that Trachemys scripta will be listed and probable that other species of Trachemys (sliders) and Pseudemys (cooters) may also be affected. By taking a precautionary approach like this industry would be taking a responsible step which ultimately makes commercial sense as it would facilitate realigning trade. 6

8 There are species that are both eminently suitable and commercially available. In recent years there has been a massive rise in the breeding of species such as musk turtles, although they are significantly less prolific than red-eared sliders which can have clutches of between eggs, compared to 2-9 for musk turtles. Clearly price will always be an issues but consumers will pay for desirable animals. As an example, before 1984 Mediterranean tortoise retailed for as little as 10 but by the early 2000 s captive-bred hatchlings were retailing for 250 which took the industry by surprise. I am not going to go into specific husbandry requirements of any of the species which I consider suitable, just provide a brief overview. Detailed husbandry information, care sheets will be available. The musk or stinkpot turtle Sternotherus odoratus is arguably one of the most suitable species due to its diminutive stature, rarely exceeding 10cm, and ready availability as a captive bred hatchling. The razorback musk Sternotherus carinatus is another species ideally suited for the UK market which is commonly seen 7

9 The mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum is another North American species occasionally available as captive bred. It is not seen as frequently as the musk but is a species I hope will increase in availability. 8

10 Reeves Turtle Mauremys reevesii is an Asian species that is common in trade and farmed in large numbers for human consumption. The Asian Turtle Crisis has a catastrophic effect on turtle populations and between 1990 and traditional Chinese medicine factories consumed 430 tons of C. reevesii plastrons (bottom shell). It is this over exploitation of wild turtles which has driven many species to extinction and with wild populations decimated turtle farms are now commercially breeding animals, both for consumption and the pet trade. 9

11 The Chinese stripe-neck turtle Ocadia sinensis is another eminently suitable Asian turtle, which is a little larger than the preceding species but still a manageable size 10

12 Finally, an African species that is relatively new in terms commercial breeding, the African side-necked or helmeted turtle Pelomedusa subrufa (sometimes called Pelusios subrufa) which has been available for years as wild caught. The species is now being farmed in West Africa and hatchlings are appearing on the market quite regularly. This is a really interesting and endearing species, a little larger than the American mud turtles, but still a manageable size, rarely exceeding 18cm. 11

13 It is obviously important to keep turtles in the correct housing, not the infamous turtle bowls. I have not seen these in the UK market for years but at this year s Interzoo in Germany one of the Chinese manufacturers was offering them, which is really depressing. One reason why sliders and cooters are not appropriate species for the average household is the size and cost of the enclosure needed for adult turtle. This large Waterland Turtle Tub (1930 x 890 x 610m) retails at approximately 399 and appropriate filtration and lighting will see that rise to 500/ 600. For smaller species standard aquariums, or better still, specialised turtle terrariums are ideal. They will need lighting, filtration and a heater and there is also a huge range of specialist products, equipment, decors, substrates and foods available. What is important to understand is that even for suitable species housing is not going to be cheep, with an appropriate enclosure and equipment; lighting, filtration, heating etc a customer is unlikely to see much change out of 200..? 12

14 I would now like to ask for a few minutes of your time to consider another related project in which I have an interest. I have been involved with the reptile industry for some thirty five years but I have little experience in the retail sector and I would value your thoughts as to whether this project has merit. The objective of the exercise is to stop other unwanted turtles being dumped in ponds and canals, but I also want to try and address the issue of those that have already been dumped. It is illegal to release non-native species into the wild, a message that we as an industry need to make sure all customers are aware of. The Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA) has been doing sterling work in this area and REPTA supports this initiative, as do all responsible traders. I have already said that the biggest mistake the pet trade has made is the mass importation of hatchling sliders and cooters and I am also a fervent believer that if you part of the problem then you should also try to be part of the solutions. Around five years ago we set up what we called Team Turtle, a collaboration between trade, industry and hobbyists, to look what could be done to address turtle issues. One of the proposals was to establish turtle sanctuaries, where people could hand in unwanted turtles rather than dumping them in the local pond. The first such sanctuary was built last year in partnership with the SSPCA in Aberdeen, I just wish someone had told me 13

15 have far Aberdeen was from Southampton beforehand! I was extremely proud of how the industry got behind establishing the sanctuary and I would like to acknowledge the generous support of Rolf C Hagen, Arcadia and Gordon Lowe who provided equipment for this project. Establishing sanctuaries such as this is part of the solution, but can we do more? 13

16 Turtle sanctuaries are part of the solution to the problem of dumped turtles but they are not the whole answer, or at least not format we have already looked at. Once we have turtles in care we need to find long-term homes for them and to achieve this viably I think we have to look at this from a commercial view point. Adult sliders and cooters can live outside all year round, and many do in ponds, rivers and canals, and part of the solution could, therefore, be to encourage people to set up appropriate turtle ponds (sanctuaries) in their gardens. It would not be difficult to draw up plans to construct an appropriate and secure turtle pond and we could even put this together as a kit. Many people like the concept of rescuing or helping animals in need and the ponds could also look aesthetically very pleasing and easy to maintain. The turtles could be supplied free of charge and there would be commercial interest for retailers in supplying the equipment to build the ponds, and supplying ongoing ancillaries such a food etc. Ideally it would be nice to build in that a small percentage of profits go back to Team Turtle so it can fund more sanctuaries etc. 14

17 At the moment this is just a very basic concept and I would very much value your initial thoughts on whether there merit in looking at this further. Thank you for listening. 14