Vietnam Seizes 1,700 Marine Turtle Eggs, Products since 2015: TRAFFIC

Vietnam has seized over 1,700 marine turtle eggs and other turtle products from wildlife traffickers since 2015, the local newswire VnExpress reported, citing a report recently compiled by the UK wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC. The figure is comprised of 1,626 eggs, 82 live turtles, and 156 stuffed ones, the report said. TRAFFIC highlighted Vietnam’s weak law enforcement and the need to improve conservation of marine turtles through better collaboration and communication between national and local authorities. It also pointed to the country’s limited resources for conserving marine turtles. The report said Vietnam, along with Indonesia and Malaysia, is a major source, consumer, and transit point in the international trade of marine turtle products, mostly destined for China. It put the Southeast Asian nations under a microscope and underlined their failure to address the illegal trade. Five sea turtle species are currently found in Vietnam, namely green sea, loggerhead, olive ridley, hawksbill, and leatherback. (VnExpressEnglish)