Illegal turtle trading in Hong Kong has successfully been prosecuted following research led by an Ipswich based academic.
Dr Hei Sung from the University of Suffolk's wildlife, ecology and conservation science course has been investigating whether turtles have been bred in captivity or taken from the wild - using chemical traces from their claws.
This work was then used by the Hong Kong government in three seizure cases.
Dr Hei Sung led the research which successfully prosecuted the illegal trade (Image: University of Suffolk)
Dr Sung said: “Illegal wildlife trafficking can be a serious problem for endangered species, and we know that turtles caught from the wild are frequently traded as being captive bred.
“Stable isotope analysis offers a reliable, robust, but currently underutilised tool to help combat this illegal trading.
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“We hope that our research advocates for further isotopic profiling in future seizures, expanding its application to more species and geographical locations to support the management of wildlife trade and prevent further illegal exploitation globally.”
The technique is called stable isotope analysis and assesses a small sample of keratin from the turtle’s claw which can determine where the turtle has lived over a period of time.
Research sampled 126 wild and 57 captive turtles in Hong Kong, including two critically endangered species – the big-headed turtle and the golden coin turtle – as well as two other endangered species – Beale’s eyed turtle and Chinese pond turtle.
The report found that turtles were among the world’s most threatened and illegal traded groups (Image: University of Suffolk)
The study, published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, explained that laundering of wild-caught animals as captive-bred is a frequent practice by illegal wildlife traders.
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Researchers hope the study could be influential in helping catch illegal wildlife traders in future, as claw samples are easy to collect and preserve without harming the animal, and the isotope analysis can be used in conjunction with other evidence such as microchips and DNA evidence.
