i never cease to be amazed!

[Dingo44]

Well ackee, I pretty much disagree with everything in your last two posts but respect your opinion and do not think that RC is the proper place to continue this discussion. I guess it's my fault that this went from an imprisoned turtle in China to the ZPG movement, lo siento....

Back to fighting my cyano outbreak and searching for mini giraffes, good day to you sir!

 

[triton_uk]

I like reading these kind of arguments but they do tend to take the thread off track.

I've been trying to get hold of IACM (the government department that deals with animals here) but there not open until Monday and I’m worried the turtle will be gone by then.

The next option I looked in to was buying the turtle my self and donating it to Hong Kong ocean park but they said they don’t except donations of animals from the public.

I'm not quite sure what to do now?

I'm still thinking about buying the turtle and dropping the receipt in to IACM. I would then need to find a good home for it. What do you guys think?

I have a 5' x 2' x 2' tank sat empty at my apartment.

 

[cortez marine]

In Papua New Guinea some local fisherman do a good business in selling undersized sea turtles to the well meaning tourists and greenies who imagine they are doing good work letting them go.

Then the fishers catch em again ..and again.
They only sell the small ones as the big ones are worth too much. Those they kill.
I bought some...took em out far away and let em go. I figured to keep it up, I'd need a few tens of thousands of dollars a year.

They told me of a famous park funded by a world famous eco-org where one could buy the protected turtle eggs from the park ranger. Coincidently, I know for sure the same thing happens in SouthWest coast of Nicaragua.

The rangers keep everyone off the nests except themselves.
Steve

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

how much did they want for it?

 

[triton_uk]

600 HKD which is about 50 pounds

 

[JHemdal]

triton,

IMO, I wouldn't buy the turtle. I can't speak for the laws in China, but in the U.S., it is the posession that gets you in trouble, not your intentions. The reason is that so many people who get caught with illegal wildlife say: 1) I didn't know it was illegal. 2) I knew it was illegal, and I was just about to turn it in 3) I'm holding it for a friend(grin).

I know of one case where a person had picked up a sea turtle in Florida, kept it in an aquarium, learned it was illegal, contacted the USFWS and was promptly arrested. This may sound harsh, but in reality, he kept the turtle for a year and only "discovered" it was illegal when it began to outgrow his tank. USFWS did the smart thing by arresting this guy, even though at face value it looked like they were being bullies.

I can validate what Ocean Park HK told you - they cannot accept the animal as a donation. They are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and they have to abide by their regulations - one of which is to only acquire animals through legal/ethical channels. Accepting a CITES 1 animal from the public isn't ethical for them, and may be illegal.

Jay

 

[triton_uk]

Thanks Jhemdal

I didn't go though with buying it in the end, ill just have to get in touch with the government tomorrow when there open and hope the turtle is still there.

 

[tunaluver]

whatever happened with this?

 

[evoi19]

Am I the only guy who wants one? Maybe just for a month or two? I want a stocked SPS tank with a turtle. Also want the mini girrafe from the direct tv commercial.

I'll take mine with a mini tiger. :lol2:

 

[scubasteve06]

This does have everything to do with individual and cultural beliefs being imposed on another. One person's idea of informed and compassionate choices are a product of their upbringing and culture. In China and other Asian countries they eat all sorts of animals we in the western world find offensive. The western world feels this way because we have projected our emotional feelings onto animals and see them as more than a food source. Some parts of the world sees that belief as impractical. Eating meat is not as destructive as you make it out to be, a large majority of beef and other meats consumed in the US are produced domestically. Tearing down the rain forest for farmland is reprehensible to westerners, but to the countries that do it see it as feeding their populations and growing their economies. The affect that has on the planet as a whole has been greatly exaggerated. The idea that if we stop eating meet will significantly help our planet is a matter of opinion. This idea that western culture has about animal welfare is borderline religious fervor, and expecting ther rest of the world to follow suite is akin to sending Catholic missionaries to the new world hundreds of years ago.

I'm guessing you support the Blue Fin Tuna trade, the Whale meat trade, and the Dolphin slaughtering that goes on year after year after year in these countries that we should just leave alone. If we leave them alone we won't have any great wonders of nature anymore. I can't understand your logic when they're are people attacking our hobby with the same belief that we as hobbyist are ruining the ocean...damn shame if you ask me that you can live in America where we were raised and taught to stand up for what is right, and you can say, "I'm just lazy, and don't feel like arguing with someone who thinks it's ok to do something utterly morally wrong, culture aside". You my friend don't deserve to live in a country where freedom and justice is its founding principles with a outlook on matters like this that you have. So we should let Bin Laden slide because their belief that we demoralize women by having Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions? We should let the killings in Africa and mass genocide happen? I know you haven't said any of these things, but your attitude and personal beliefs sure do reflect it. SMH...:worried2:

 

[T Diddy]

I never cease to be amazed either...

I never cease to be amazed either...

navigating through this forum is like walking on eggshells...turtle eggshells. Emotions run higher here than Jerseylicious. What amazes me is how people get so fired up over seemingly wanton issues, and also how unbelievably uninformed many posters seem to be on issues of actual importance...I won't comment on anything/anyone in particular, but there are some things that will never change, while others must change.

Believe it or not, you can't win a battle of wits with an idiot...they typically don't realize that they are idiots, nor that they've lost.

 

[GhostCon1]

hmmmm inb4?