Red eared sliders are the most popular turtle in the country, and possibly the world. Because of this fact, the species has been hard hit by unscrupulous dealers that collect specimens from the wild. Another threat to sliders is their popularity in Asia as food. This is a double whammy, as they are also collected in the wild for shipment and consumption in Asia. Should Red eared slider conservation taken into considerations by the community?
Red eared sliders are popular as pets because they are active and hardy, making them somewhat easy to care for. The turtle pet trade has been in business long enough now to be self-sustaining, meaning that captive turtles are producing enough offspring to keep the trade going, but still people are collecting them from the wild and selling them to unknowing buyers. There is really no way to tell if you are getting a wild caught or captive bred turtle, but it never hurts to ask.
So what is being done? First, red eared sliders, as an invasive species, are being outlawed in many countries. Australia, for instance, has declared them a pest and outlawed the sale and ownership of sliders because of the fact that so many get released into the wild and out-compete native species. Second, many states in which red eared sliders are naturally found have passed laws that prohibit the collection of red eared sliders from private waters. While it is impossible to catch every poacher, the threat of prosecution has cut back on wild collection of these turtles.
The popularity of red eared sliders as food in Asia has risen sharply in the past few years. As you probably already know, the collection of such species in the wild is a wholly unsanitary and inhumane practice in general. Sliders, for instance, are collected from waterways and shoved by the thousands into mesh bags for transportation. Many die before they ever reach their destination due to the inadequate conditions. States such as Texas have proposals on the table to allow private waters to breed sliders for this purpose so that there won’t be any impact on the native populations in public waters.
Red eared slider conservation may seem unnecessary because of the massive population of this species, but people have learned from past mistakes with other species. Besides the inhumane practices and conditions often inherent in the pet and illegal food trade, we don’t want to wait until it is too late to save this species. By taking action now, we are guaranteeing that the red eared slider will have a place in the world of the future, not just in our memories.