Thousands of Philippine turtles rescued from criminals

This video says about itself:

THE CONSERVATION OF PALAWAN FOREST TURTLES IN THE PHILIPPINES

24 March 2013

This is a project in the Philippines on conservation of Palawan Forest Turtle under the funding of OPCF, Hong Kong. We are students from CityU who worked as a team with a local NGO, Katala Foundation (KFI), stayed for two weeks in Palawan for this endangered species. In the two-week time, we conducted field research for eight days by checking the traps twice a day in two areas. We also went to dozens of schools to raise student’s awareness through the Information Education Campaign in the spare time. This video shows the efforts of us, and all the stakeholders who are involved in the conservation.

From daily The Guardian in Britain:

Thousands of critically endangered turtles rescued in the Philippines

3,831 Palawan forest turtles, as well as Asian leaf turtles and southeast Asian box turtles, are rescued from a terrible conditions in remote warehouse

Wednesday 15 July 2015 12.53 BST

Thousands of critically endangered turtles have been saved from possible extinction after being rescued from terrible conditions in the Philippines, conservationists said Wednesday.

More than 4,000 live freshwater turtles and 90 dead ones were found in a dry concrete pond in a remote warehouse on the western island of Palawan four weeks ago in one of the country’s biggest wildlife rescues.

They included 3,831 Palawan forest turtles, a critically endangered species found only in the north of the large island, as well as 160 Asian leaf turtles and 25 Southeast Asian box turtles.

“The turtles were in terrible conditions,” said Sabine Schoppe, director of the Philippine Freshwater Turtle Conservation Programme.

The reptiles had apparently been without food or water for about six months, destined for the pet and food markets in Hong Kong and China, Schoppe said in a statement.

Veterinarians worked round the clock over the next few weeks to save the animals and prevent a potential species die-off.

“This number equalled the estimated remaining population of Palawan forest turtle in the wild, hence bringing the species to the brink of extinction,” the statement said.

Many of the turtles were in “shocking, sickening” condition, suffering from eye ulcers, dehydration and other health problems, according to the Turtle Survival Alliance, an international conservation group that helped treat the reptiles.

Some 360 of those rescued had since died, according to Schoppe.

About 230 are still being treated, while the rest were released back into the wild, she added.

The owner of the building where the turtles were kept could not be found after the June 17 raid, according to Jennifer Lyn Yap, of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development.

The Palawan forest turtle, which weighs as much as 3.5 kilogrammes (7.7 pounds) is an “aggressive” species that cannot be kept in groups, Schoppe said.

The turtles were transferred by truck to a rescue centre for critically endangered Philippine crocodiles in the provincial capital Puerto Princesa, the only location on the island capable of housing such large numbers of rescued animals.

Trapping or trading in the species is punishable by jail terms and fines.

However, the Palawan provincial government has struggled to prevent poaching in one of the country’s most biologically diverse areas.

Wildlife authorities suspect northern Palawan poachers had sold the turtles to a trader who transported them to the other end of the island.