Unregulated trade—at 10 to 100 times legal levels—has caused Southeast Asian Box Turtles almost to vanish from parts of Indonesia where they were once common, according to a new report by the wildlife ...

Tens of thousands of freshwater turtles and tortoises are legally harvested each year in Indonesia for their meat and exported primarily to China, while many species teeter on the brink of extinction.

The turtles are used for meat and in Traditional Chinese Medicine, with major markets in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia, mostly supplied from Indonesia. Animals are also exported as pets, ...