[wildtrade] Press Release - Critically endangered royal turtle is heading home

[ENV Communication]

Dear Sir/Madam,



*Ho Chi Minh City, October 5, 2012* – A critically endangered “royal
turtle” is heading home to Cambodia today after an almost 30-year stay in
Vietnam.



The large mangrove terrapin (*Batagur affinis*) was first discovered by
staff from Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) in October 2010, at the SuốiTi
ên Cultural Resort on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City.  According to Mr.
Đinh Văn Vui, CEO of Suối Tiên Cultural Tourism Ltd., the turtle has been
kept here since the 1980s.



ENV spent nearly two years working with Mr. Vui, CITES Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh
City authorities, and counterparts from the Cambodian Ministry of
Agriculture-Forestry-Fisheries, to secure the turtle’s return.



“We thank Mr. Vui for his decision, because this turtle is particularly
important to Cambodia,” says Mr. Tran Viet Hung, Vice Director of ENV.
“Cambodians value this species as part of their culture, referring to it as
the ‘royal turtle’ because at one time Cambodia’s king declared the turtle
to be protected by a royal decree and strictly prohibited its hunting.”



However, wild populations of the species in Cambodia have declined
remarkably over the past few decades, and today are found mainly in the Sre
Ambel River system in the southern coastal region.  Last year, only three
females were confirmed to have nested on the sandy riverbanks in this
region, a stable but dangerously small fraction of a once-robust local
population.



The Batagur was handed over to the Cambodian Ministry of
Agriculture-Fisheries-Forestry at a special ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City
today. It will now be transferred to the Batagur Conservation Project in
the Sre Ambel River system in Cambodia, where it will be introduced into a
conservation breeding program in an effort to boost the drastically low
populations and increase the genetic diversity of this species.



ENV wishes to thank all of the partners who helped send this turtle home,
including the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Cambodia for assisting
ENV in coordinating the Cambodian side of the return, and Ms. Đoàn Nguyễn
Thùy Trang of the National Assembly for supporting the return and
ultimately making it happen. ENV also wishes to thank the Humane Society
International for their support in this important species transfer.



For further information, please find in the following link: *
http://envietnam.org/E_News/Daily_News/farewell_royal_turtle.html*<http://envietnam.org/E_News/Daily_News/farewell_royal_turtle.html>



Best regards,


*Hoang Hue Linh (Ms.)*

*Communication and Public Awareness Unit*

*Education for Nature - Vietnam (ENV)*

No. 5 IF1, lane 192 Thai Thinh street, Dong Da district, Hanoi
PO Box 222, Hanoi
Tel/fax: +84 4 35148850 (Ext: 404); +84 94 635 8488

E-mail: communication.env at gmail.com

Website: www.envietnam.org (English), www.thiennhien.org (Vietnamese)
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