"Don't buy Brazilian turtles!" Shi Haitao, president of the Amphibians and Reptiles Branch of the Chinese Zoological Society, solemnly told the Beijing News: "Buying a Brazilian turtle is equivalent to cutting off the path of the original turtle, which is an extremely serious alien species invasion!" Every morning at eight o'clock, in the pet market of Beijing Panjiayuan Huasheng Tianqiao, merchants will open their doors on time. Among the densely arranged pet groups, the most conspicuous are the pet turtles in sacks and washbasins. Dozens and hundreds of such turtles huddled together and crawled around in a limited space. Shopkeepers selling turtles always sell to pedestrians: "If you want to keep a pet, keep a Brazilian turtle!" " ! Special experience, very easy to raise. "In the pet market of Huasheng Tianqiao, there are nearly ten shops specializing in selling reptile pets. Although there are snakes, frogs, snails, lizards and so on. The most important thing is the tortoise, and the best tortoise is the Brazilian tortoise. Brazilian tortoise, bottle cap size, 10 yuan 3; A little older, 5 yuan; If it is as big as a bowl, it's 20 yuan each. But overall, it's surprisingly cheap. The buyer who asked next to him told the Beijing Science and Technology News reporter that they were college students and bought Brazilian tortoises just to keep them in the dormitory. " Many of our classmates raise them because they are cheap, and they don't feel bad if they are not careful. The shopkeeper told them with all his heart: "Everyone can feed. As long as you have perseverance, you can grow to the size of a washbasin." "The Brazilian tortoise, also known as the red-eared tortoise, originated in the south-central United States and was introduced to Hong Kong in1980s. Because of its tenacious vitality and easy feeding, it is widely propagated in domestic farms in China. Shi Haitao said, "In our country, there are a large number of Brazilian tortoises. The farms are mainly concentrated in Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, and the number of new farms is about 50 million every year. In Hainan province, the annual output of some farms can reach several million. "In addition to large-scale domestic farming, there are about 8 million imported from abroad every year." In the market of flowers, birds, fish and insects in Beijing, two-thirds of amphibians and reptiles such as lizards, snakes, frogs and salamanders are Brazilian turtles. Zeng Yan, assistant director of People's Republic of China (PRC) Endangered Species Science Committee, told the reporter of Beijing Science and Technology News that from the second half of 2007 to 20081October 65438+, she and her colleagues had made a special investigation report entitled "Current situation of amphibian and reptile pet market in Beijing", which involved about 100 kinds of visible amphibian and reptile pets in Beijing market. In their evaluation, the Brazilian tortoise is one of the most common varieties sold in the market, because its low price has been welcomed by the public and the number of people buying it is very large. On the online forum "Climbing League" for exchanging and feeding reptiles, posts sharing their experiences in feeding Brazilian tortoises abound. Some "crawling friends" said that they kept more than a dozen Brazilian turtles back and forth and always gave them away in the end. "The viability of the Brazilian tortoise is much stronger than that of the native tortoise, which is no match at all. "Shi Haitao said that the Brazilian tortoise is a big adult with obvious advantages in competing for food and habitat, and it has strong adaptability in high-density environment and multi-species competition on the same stage. In addition, in domestic feeding experiments, it is also confirmed that the reproductive ability of Brazilian tortoise is several times that of local species. In the pet market, Brazilian tortoises are sold in washbasins and sacks at will and allowed to crawl. In Shi Haitao's view, it is "very likely" that there will be an escape problem. " Brazilian tortoises can easily escape to the nearby environment. "Compared with the escape problem, the main problem that leads to the widespread existence of the Brazilian tortoise in the wild in China is its release. Shi Haitao said that turtles in China have been released for more than a thousand years, but since the appearance of Brazilian turtles, most people have chosen to release them because their prices are very low. " I once walked around the pool of Yuantong Temple in Kunming and found that among hundreds of turtles, only two were native to China, and one of them had quietly died in the corner. "As a typical biological invasion all over the world, the ecological disaster caused by the invasion of the Brazilian tortoise is extremely serious. Because of its short breeding cycle and lively personality, it is easy to spread its offspring all over the rivers, lakes and seas in the invaded areas, seize a lot of food and other living resources, and make the living environment of native species deteriorate rapidly, the number decrease rapidly, and finally go extinct. Not only will the native turtles suffer, but all kinds of aquatic creatures eaten by Brazilian turtles will also escape this fate. In Taiwan Province Province, the Brazilian tortoise was introduced as a pet for less than 20 years, but it has settled and bred in Taiwan Province Province, becoming the most common turtle in Taiwan Province Province. Brazilian tortoises prey on a large number of eggs and tadpoles of small fish, shellfish and frogs in the local wild, causing disasters to the local ecological water. For example, the Keelung River in Taiwan Province Province has been "ruled" by Brazilian tortoises for a long time, occupying 30% to 40% of the living space and food resources in the whole ecosystem. It is difficult to see native tortoises in the local wild and almost disappeared. In recent years, due to pet abandonment, religious release, reproductive escape and other factors, Brazilian tortoises are widespread in the wild in China and spread rapidly. There are wild populations in Xiangjiang River in Hunan, Pearl River in Guangdong, Suzhou River in Shanghai, West Lake in Zhejiang, Qiantang River and Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River. Shi Haitao said that he had personally found wild Brazilian tortoises in Dongling, Huzhou, Zhejiang, Lijiang River in Guilin, Guangxi and Nandu River in Hainan. Shi Haitao told reporters that it is worth noting that the Brazilian tortoise is also the chief culprit in the spread of Salmonella. This pathogen will appear in the feces of sick turtles, as well as in the waters where they live and the soil on the shore, and it has been proved that it can be transmitted from warm-blooded animals to warm-blooded animals. Because salmonella is mainly transmitted through the digestive tract, children like to play with small turtles, and may not wash their hands after playing, and then touch their mouths with the hands that have touched the turtles, so children are particularly susceptible to infection. Shi Haitao believes that tortoises in the Beijing market are generally traded in the open air, and it is inevitable that some people will touch them with their hands. At this time, if they eat without washing their hands, they may be infected. At present, the Brazilian tortoise has successfully invaded all parts of the world and is listed as one of the most dangerous 100 invasive species in the world. Many countries have banned the import and trade of Brazilian tortoises. For example, Europe banned the import of Brazilian tortoises in 1997, while the United States, as the origin of Brazilian tortoises, banned the trading of Brazilian tortoises as early as 1975. In contrast, the situation of biological invasion of Brazilian tortoises in China is very serious, but it has not attracted enough attention at present. There are no relevant laws and regulations in China that prohibit the import of Brazilian turtles, so there are still 8 million Brazilian turtles flowing into China through various channels every year. " My advice to people is not to buy, raise or release Brazilian tortoises. Please also tell people around you * * * to be alert to the Brazilian tortoise, report the illegal trade, and reflect the wild population found in time, so as not to let the situation spread further. "Shi Haitao said. good luck