In the early morning of April 24, when everyone was having all kinds of dreams in bed, the police on duty from the Dongxing Border Patrol Team of the Guangxi Fangchenggang Border Management Detachment were still in Dongxing Daily patrols are carried out on the city's border roads. I have to say that it is indeed too hard, but without their protection, public security would not be as good as it is. No, they found something abnormal again while patrolling.

I saw three suspicious woven bags placed on the roadside near a rural area. However, the shape of these bags was not very fixed. From time to time, they were convex here and concave there. Clearly, there was something alive in the bag! The police did not dare to be careless. After checking around and finding no one around, they carefully opened the bag and inspected it. They found that it was full of live turtles.

After counting and testing, it was determined that these turtles are the national second-level protected animal hawkbill turtle, also called ratite turtle, three There are 68 in total in the bag.

The police visited and asked nearby residents, and sure enough, no one claimed these live turtles. Why? I feel guilty! Or the smugglers were so frightened by the police that they abandoned the turtles and ran away. This batch of eagle-billed turtles is most likely smuggled. As for whether the source is farmed or wild, further testing is needed. The police have sent it to the relevant departments. The case is still being processed.

Owl-billed turtles

The eagle-billed turtle does indeed look likeThere are enough unique ones that most of them can be easily identified with a little memory.

They are animals of the family Ratite and genus Ratite. Their flat heads are so big that they cannot even be retracted into the turtle shell. However, they are not stupid either. They have hard scutes on their heads. It can also play a protective role; their name comes from the unique turtle's upper and lower jaws that are hooked and curved in the shape of an eagle's beak. It seems that a bite will hurt for a long time; its carapace is shaped like an egg, with slightly concave front and middle parts, and a A ridge; its front paws have 5 claws, but its hind claws only have 4. As a freshwater turtle, there are naturally webbed fingers and toes; their colors are very mixed, but they can be roughly divided into three types: their tails are very Long, almost as long as the body. correct! I almost forgot to mention that their body length is about 8-17 cm, not counting the tail and head.

Owl-billed turtles are distributed in China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. They are ferocious carnivorous tortoises, and they especially like to eat live bait. This shows that they prefer to take the initiative rather than wait for the rabbit. When encountering danger, they will directly attack and threaten with their big mouths. They seem to have no fear, just like us. The "shrunk turtle" I thought was completely different!

But even though they are brave and good at fighting, they cannot defeat humans who are huge and well-equipped. Because their appearance is very in line with human aesthetics, and their shells can be made into handicrafts. Coupled with the intensification of environmental damage and pollution, their numbers have declined rapidly. In 2000, they were listed on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. It is listed as a second-level protected animal in the country and is also a second-level protected animal in my country's "List of National Key Protected Wild Animals in China".

So I believe you may have questions, why do I often see people raising such a precious species?

Why can you raise eagle-beaked turtles?

You can raise eagle-billed turtles, but the premise is that the raised eagle-billed turtles are artificially bred populations, and they cannot be harvested in the wild. , sell and utilize their animal products.

So artificially bred hawkbill turtles purchased from regular channels can be raised, so we ordinary people don’t need to worry.

But if you want to breed eagle-billed turtles, you need to apply for a "Wild Animal Domestication and Breeding License"! The country actually encourages the domestication and breeding of wild animals, because this can protect wild populations and at the same time meet the needs of some people. If you want to apply for this license, you need to consult the local municipal (state) forestry administrative department in advance, and then prepare the materials and submit a written application to the forestry department. After passing the verification, the State Forestry Administration will finally approve and issue a domestication and breeding license. Certificate, and then go to the local forestry department to get it.

It's a bit troublesome, but it's legal, no Worrying about their future, many people just want convenience and end up losing everything and even end up in jail.