What are the hazards of Brazilian turtles?

What are the hazards of Brazilian turtles? Oncomelania hupensis was introduced into Guangdong in 1981 to be used as food for aquaculture. Eventually, due to overfarming and bad taste, it was released to the wild for mass reproduction. It spreads quickly, destroying vegetables and aquatic crops, and the people of Guangdong have paid a high price to destroy it, as do small Brazilian turtles.

The harm of Brazilian turtles

Brazilian turtles must not be released into the wild. When a creature is introduced into a new environment, if it breaks away from artificial control and becomes wild, it is very easy to spread and spread wantonly under suitable climate, soil, water and transmission conditions. form a large area of single superior community, destroy local animals and plants, and even endanger the survival of local endangered animals and plants, thus losing biodiversity. These invasive species must have natural enemies to control their populations in their original ecosystems, but there is usually no such control mechanism in the new environment, so these species are likely to be rampant.

Domestic hazard cases

In Hong Kong and Taiwan, scientific investigations have proved that Brazilian turtles are veritable "ecological killers". Less than 20 years after they were introduced to Taiwan, Brazilian turtles have settled and bred in Taiwan and become the most common turtles in Taiwan. Brazilian tortoises in the wild eat a large number of eggs and tadpoles of small fish, shellfish and frogs, causing havoc in the local ecological water. Taiwan's Keelung River has already been occupied by Brazilian turtles and pipa rats.

Brazilian turtles thrive at the age of 2, while native tortoises don't mature sexually until they are seven or eight years old, which is one of the reasons why Brazilian turtles are cheap. Brazilian turtles have low requirements for food and living environment, strong environmental adaptability, fast growth, strong reproduction, and ferocious prey. If it is released at will, in the long run, because it basically has no natural enemies, it will enter rivers and lakes in large numbers and grab food with local turtles, which will threaten the survival of local turtles and related species and cause great damage to the original ecological chain.

Foreign hazard cases

The Queensland government of Australia recently announced a campaign to crack down on exotic turtles, a species called red-eared turtles that could threaten the survival of native Australian turtles.

Red-eared turtles were brought to Australia as pets in the 1960s and 1970s, and have since multiplied at an alarming rate, when they proved to be a threat to the local ecological balance.

The International Union for Conservation of Natural Resources has listed the tortoise as one of the 100 most invasive creatures, and Australian authorities have warned that red-eared turtles could cause significant losses to those engaged in freshwater fishing. Because these turtles like to eat creatures such as freshwater lobster.

In addition, red-eared turtles have also been found in some waters of Victoria and New South Wales.

Queensland also uses a Labrador hound to hunt red-eared turtles, which have a keen sense of smell and can find traces of urine and eggs. If turtle eggs are found, hunters will dig them out of the soil and dispose of them. In addition, the Queensland government also stipulates that anyone found to raise or sell red-eared turtles will be fined A $60,000.