Giving Hope, Adding Life

Differing views on turtle soup

2009-10-15T04:16:00.000-07:00

Hello. These are the differing views on turtle consumption extracted from the AsianFanatics Forum.

Area of concern for this Forum page would be: "Anyone want turtle soup?"

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Do leave us comments on your stand pertaining to the consumption of turtle soups. Giving Hope, Adding Life. Thank you.

Threat 2- Illegal pet trade

2009-10-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

Singapore is a major trade hub in the region. An "alarmingly high" number of animals including endangered species are being sold illegally in Singapore as pets, an animal rights group said. (Terra Daily, Illegal animal trading rampant in Singapore: Animal Rights Group, Singapore (AFP), July 22, 2005)

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) said a survey it conducted between June and July this year of 100 pet shops revealed one-fifth of them were engaged in illegal wildlife trading. Five different turtle species, most on the brink of extinction, were found to be on sale, Acres said, inclusive of the Chinese soft-shell turtle. There was no let up in the number of soft-shell turtles received from confiscations by AVA during the year brought in as food and for the trade. This year, WRS received 637 animals as compared to just 152 from these channels in the previous year.

Aside from the trade of these animals for pets, Lim said the belief within some Asian communities that turtle meat had medicinal value had also fuelled the trade. We urge you to discourage the consumption of the Pelodiscus Sinensis, chinese soft shell turtles. Please support us in our conservation efforts. Play a part. Thank you.

Consuming turtles: Definitely NOT 'ok'

2009-10-14T03:17:00.000-07:00

Local threats faced by the Chinese soft-shell turtles (Pelodicus Sinensis) are mainly :
1. Consumption - Major Threat
2. Illegal Pet trade,

Be it the consumption of turtle meat, turtle soup or turtle eggs, it is a general perception that it is "ok" or "alright" because turtle meat are perceived as "just like other meat", such as Pork or Chicken or Beef. Perhaps that is why TriDelta Food Pte Ltd., largest turtle distributor in Singapore estimates an annual local consumption of 230-250 tons of turtle meat.

If you have the common perception that the consumption of turtle meat is merely something like

This,

Then you are very wrong.

The ugly truth:

Slaughtering turtles for a restaurant in Chinatown, Singapore.

Streets of Shanghai. Singapore import turtle supplies from China as well, thus local demand had generated increased demand for the chinese soft-shell turtles in China.

Chinese soft-shell turtle

Despite these, there is still the observation of accelerating demand for turtle soup in Singapore:

From the interview we had with Kok Kee Turtle Soup and Si Yang Steamed Soup in Singapore, we learnt that:

Kok Kee Turtle Soup
- 80 to 100 customers daily
- Revenue of S$900 or more daily
- S$22,000 or more income generated monthly
- Chinese soft-shell turtles are supplied from their sole agent, TriDelta Food Pte Ltd, largest turtle meat distributor in Singapore.
- While the shop starts operations at 10am, business can be so good, especially on weekends, that turtle soups are run out in the afternoon.

Si Yang Steamed Soup
- Estimated 70-80 bowls of turtle soup sold daily
- Daily revenue between S$700 to S$800
- Stall earned numerous prestigious reviews and recommendations that spurred on more consumption as the shop's gaining popularity amongst locals.

And because local demand for the chinese soft shells remains steep, such further threaten the livelihood of the endangered turtles. The Pelodiscus Sinensis (chinese soft shell turtle) is listed as "Vulnerable" in the IUCN Red List 2009.

Our Project focuses more on the threat of Consumption of the Pelodiscus Sinensis. Eating these turtles are not ok. Support us. Leave your comments. Thank you.