Animals in danger

Every week we will focus on a new species threatened with extinction and been found illegally on sale in London, this week it is Turtles.

Turtles

Hunting for their meat, eggs, skin, shell, and body fat is a major cause of the drastic decline in marine turtle populations. In many countries, juvenile marine turtles are illegally caught, stuffed, and sold as curios to tourists. In some parts of the world almost 100 per cent of turtle eggs have been poached from beaches in the last few decades. And while the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) now prohibits international trade in all 7 marine turtle species and their parts, illegal trafficking persists, mainly in Asia.