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Turtles in demand as pets, leading to a spike in poaching

FILE - Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) make their way into the ocean upon their release at Kuta beach, Bali, Indonesia, Jan. 8, 2022. With the help of volunteers, Indonesian navy released thirty two green turtles which they seized from illegal poachers during a raid in the waters off the resort island December 2021. The plight of turtles is expected to get plenty of attention at a wildlife trade conference in Panama in November 2022. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File) FILE - A Malaysian Customs official holds seized tortoise after a news conference at Customs office in Sepang, Malaysia, Malaysia on May 15, 2017. Malaysian authorities say they seized 330 exotic tortoises from Madagascar. The plight of turtles is expected to get plenty of attention at a wildlife trade conference in Panama in November 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Chan, File) A sign labeling a quarantine area for turtles hangs on a door as Lou Perrotti, the director of conservation programs at Roger Williams Park Zoo, looks over the 16 quarter-sized turtle hatchlings that were confiscated in a wildlife bust, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, in Providence, R.I. Scores of turtle species are under threat from poaching. The plight of turtles is expected to get plenty of attention at a wildlife trade conference in Panama in November. (AP Photo/David Goldman) A musk turtle looks out from a tank while in quarantine at Roger Williams Park Zoo after 16 of the quarter-sized turtle hatchlings were confiscated in a wildlife bust, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, in Providence, R.I. Scores of turtle species are under threat from poaching. The plight of turtles is expected to get plenty of attention at a wildlife trade conference in Panama in November. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Lou Perrotti, left, the director of conservation programs at Roger Williams Park Zoo, talks with Harold Guise, a Rhode Island Environmental Police detective, over a tank of musk turtles quarantined after they were confiscated in a wildlife bust involving Guise, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, in Providence, R.I. Scores of turtle species are under threat from poaching. The plight of turtles is expected to get plenty of attention at a wildlife trade conference in Panama in November. (AP Photo/David Goldman)