China Town Turtles

[Logiola]

Hey guys,

I was wondering about something. When i was in New York, I noticed a lot of shops in china town selling silver dollar sized turtles. The turtle's were usually just in a bucket of water sitting out on the sidewalk and am not sure how much they were selling them for. It kind of surprised me, these were not for "food delicacy" but for anyone to buy for a "pet" The thing that really got me is, when i was in Times square i saw numerous young teens carrying these around in little clear jars, and you just know that when they get back to their hotels the parents are going to freak and the turtles will probably be flushed or just thrown out of.

Is this something that has been going on a long time? kind of an odd "souvenir"

[erik-the-red]

1. Never heard of this before

I'm Chinese and this is new to me.

Then again, I live in a small city where the Asian community is relatively small.

[Logiola]

2. found an article on it..

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2004/08/dont_buy_the_tu.html

and another

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/nov04/041115s.asp