News Archive

SHELLSHOCK
EAZA Turtle and Tortoise Campaign 2004/2005

The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) recently launched their ShellShock campaign.

The Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens are participating in this campaign to help raise awareness of the threat facing turtles and tortoises in the wild, to raise funds which will help to support new and existing conservation projects, and to take part in creating captive safety net populations for priority species.

Turtles and tortoises have been on our planet for almost 250 million years. This means that they have witnessed the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, they watched the first birds fly, and they have observed our own rapid evolution from the most harmless of primates. Now, in the space of less than thirty years they are being wiped from the face of the planet.

Of the 265 species of tortoise and freshwater turtles currently recognised:

• 8 species are listed as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild
• 25 species are Critically Endangered
• 46 species are Endangered
• 57 species are Vulnerable

The status of around 100 species is still to be evaluated

All 7 species of marine turtle are listed as either Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable

WHY ARE THEY GOING EXTINCT ?

Estimates suggest that over 12 million turtles are being sold in China each year for their meat, shells and traditional Chinese medicine. The importation of turtles to China has increased more than ten-fold since 1977, from countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, New Guinea, India and the USA .

Critically Endangered Leatherback Terrapin

The problem is not confined to the mass trade in China and the South-East Asia region. Throughout the world, turtle and tortoise habitats are being degraded, fragmented, destroyed and developed. Threats also come through subsistence hunting, egg-collecting, pollution, regional and international bush-meat trade, and the international pet-trade.

Most turtles sold are wild caught, and their low reproductive and growth rates make it impossible for them to breed fast enough in the wild to meet demand.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

• Tell people about ShellShock.
• Buy ShellShock merchandise from our shop.
• Fund-raise for ShellShock through the Park.
• Check our web site for Reptile Awareness Days and special events.
• Find out more about turtle and tortoise conservation and the ShellShock campaign at www.eaza.net and www.turtlesurvival.org

If you would like to support turtle and tortoise conservation directly, you can contribute to the ShellShock fundraising campaign by sending a cheque to:

ShellShock,
Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens,
Burford, Oxon OX18 4JP

Please make cheques payable to: Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens

Want to Help?

A visit to the Cotswold Wildlife Park can now be even more worthwhile. By adopting an animal, you can provide a helpful contribution towards the costs of keeping and feeding the animals and supporting our conservation breeding programmes... click here for more information