[Yahoo Newspaper x Oshiro Magazine]
The original brown-green patterned turtle shell is painted with blue paint of Hello Kitty pattern. This kind of “painted turtle” has appeared again in Hong Kong in recent months. Follow Abandoned Turtle’s social page “Turtle way“, the moderator Bon received a request for help at the beginning of the month, and found this abandoned “painted turtle” in a park in Tuen Mun. He adopted a tortoise, and picked away the paint on the tortoise’s shell with a knife, and asked in tears, “Using one life to adjust your life, and then abandoning it irresponsibly…how can you still feel at ease?”
After describing the incident on his page, he received requests from four owners of “painted turtles” to remove the paint from the turtles. While asking for help, some people bought turtle supplies through Taobao and received “painted turtles” as gifts; some people went north after clearing customs, bought “painted turtles” at street stalls, and brought them to Hong Kong. He said that many people think that the turtle shell is a dead thing, but it is actually a living tissue that needs to absorb sunlight and will continue to grow. Painting it is killing the growth of the turtle. Novelty visual satisfaction actually ruins a weak life.
Turtle’s shell deformed and warped, making people feel ashamed
The “Painted Turtle” discovered by A Bon in the park is a species of flower turtle with a small body. The blue, white and black paint of the Hello Kitty pattern covers almost the entire shell of the turtle. The tortoise shell is deformed, and the periphery is tilted upwards, which generally reflects the lack of calcium and long-term lack of sunlight in the tortoise. Witnessing the miserable condition of the turtle, he confessed that he was very sad. From the shell of the turtle, he could imagine and feel the suffering the turtle had suffered. “In order to sell money for profit, it is actually very miserable for a good turtle to become like this.”
He believes that the deformation of the tortoise shell has a lot to do with the painting. Applying the paint is like sticking a layer of glue, which prevents the shell from extending outward. In addition, the shell is difficult to absorb sunlight and reduce the conversion of calcium under the cover of paint. ” Many people think that the turtle shell is a dead thing, but in fact, apart from the cuticle on the outermost surface, the bottom is already living tissue, which needs to breathe and absorb sunlight.”
According to the information from the Education Bureau of Taiwan, the turtle shell is a part of the whole body skeleton, combined with the spine and ribs in the body, and covered with blood vessels and nerves. The turtle shell cannot be separated from the body, and it will grow with the body.
When he found the turtle, it was injured. He believes that the environment of the park pool is not conducive to the growth of pet turtles, it is difficult to find food, and they may be attacked and killed by big turtles. He adopted this “painted turtle” and used a carving knife to pick off the paint on the turtle’s shell. Afterwards, he posted clips and experiences on his social page, which aroused the distress of many netizens. He stated: “I was born as a human being, and I feel ashamed and repentant for the people who produced and made this painted turtle, and also for those who bought this painted turtle, and those who abandoned this painted turtle.”
After telling the story, ask for help to remove the oil paint on the turtle
It has been three or four years since the last time he came into contact with the “Painted Turtle”. produce these turtles.”
After he told his story, he received inquiries from four tortoise owners. Someone bought a “painted tortoise” as a gift when they bought turtle supplies on Taobao, and some people recently went to mainland China after clearing the customs and bought a “painted tortoise” at a street stall. Bring it back to Hong Kong. After they saw the post, they hoped that Bon could clean up the paint on the turtle. Some netizens even reported that there are aquarium shops selling “painted turtles”, but he didn’t find it after checking on the spot.
Checking the information, in 2018, some media found a stall selling “Oil Painted Turtle” on Jinyu Street in Mong Kok. The turtle shell was covered with colorful paint, and even the turtle’s nose and mouth were painted. The price was 38 yuan a piece. The trafficker denied animal cruelty, and even said: “If these are animal abuse, the whole street stalls are, and others are good to animals.” Zhang Mashan, scientific affairs manager of the Ecological Education and Resource Center, said in an interview at the time that if someone Paint on the shell of the turtle, and the turtle may be poisoned after absorbing the toxin.
Tied tortoise dipped in water to dye pigment Taobao a few yuan has one
According to A Bon’s observations, “painted turtles” mainly appear in mainland China, and merchants use “water transfer printing” or “UV printing” technology to paint the turtles. “Water transfer printing” is to float the film of the pattern on the water surface, and then put the object into the water, and the pattern will be transferred to the object. In many clips on the Internet, a large number of turtles will only be bound to the frame, then immersed in water, and then covered with paint. As for “UV printing”, the ink is irradiated by ultraviolet light while printing, so that the ink can be quickly dried and fixed.
He said that in order to make a profit, businessmen use these industrial printing technologies on live turtles, and they will even change their names to “Internet Red Turtle” and “Colorful Turtle” to attract consumers’ attention. However, he pointed out that in the process of “water transfer printing”, the skin other than the turtle shell may also be stained with pigments, and it is not known whether the pigments are toxic or have any impact on the living body. And “UV printing” may also irradiate the turtle’s eyes and cause blindness.
Taobao merchants recorded 600 transactions in 3 months
I opened the Taobao website, and found that there are merchants selling “painted turtles”. There is one for about 8 Hong Kong dollars. The merchants describe the turtles as “net celebrity”, “colorful” and “toys”. The feeling of being full of vitality”, if you buy it, you “guarantee live”, that is, you are guaranteed to sell live turtles. The 1688 website, which also belongs to Alibaba and is aimed at retailers, is even more exaggerated. It is easy to find wholesalers of “painted turtles”. The merchants are all over China. According to the website, some merchants recorded more than 600 transactions within 90 days.
Regarding the reappearance of “painted turtles” in Hong Kong, the Fisheries and Conservation Department replied to “Dacheng Zhi” that it is not recommended for anyone to paint the turtles, and will also remind shops that sell pet turtles not to sell painted turtles. If the health of animals is affected, it may violate the “Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulations”. Anyone who treats animals cruelly and unreasonably causes animals to suffer unnecessary pain is guilty of an offense. Offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for three years upon conviction.
As for posting live turtles from Taobao and other platforms, is it illegal? The department pointed out that generally speaking, anyone who imports or re-exports animals through Hong Kong must obtain a special permit issued by the department. Importing or re-exporting live animals of listed species without permission may even violate the “Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance”. Violators are liable to a maximum fine of HK$10 million and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction.
A fitness trainer has cared for injured turtles since he was a child and lived in a village house to raise hundreds of abandoned lives
A Bon himself is a fitness coach. He has been raising turtles since he was a child. He is active in different social groups related to turtles. In 2021, he will open a social page “Turtle Way”, which will adopt abandoned turtles and promote animal protection. consciousness. In the current one-day schedule, I will probably teach fitness in the morning and evening, and sometimes in the afternoon I will go to different schools to share information about turtles, and I will also arrange for the schools to adopt turtles.
He started raising his first tortoise 30 years ago, a Chinese tortoise named “Pian Bian”. When he was a child, he loved reading books on natural science. He lived in Sha Tin and would hang out at aquarium shops when he passed by the Sha Tin market. At that time, there was a tortoise with a neck injury in the store. He felt very miserable and asked the boss why he didn’t treat it. Later, he saved money to buy it back, applied medicine to it, and kept it until it passed away in recent years. 40 years old. He felt that through the eyes of the tortoise, he could feel its thoughts and soul. Generally speaking, he felt that he and the tortoise had a special destiny.
Turtles are reptiles and cold-blooded animals, that is, their bodies do not know how to regulate their own temperature. Some people say that tortoises have no feelings, but he feels: “I get along with them, and I know that each of them has different personalities, thoughts, and habits. Some like to be in groups, and they especially like to walk with other tortoises and often sleep together. , if they don’t have cognition, they may not come together.”
Reflect on the fate of “Turtle Road”
Now he lives in a village house, which has a large place and a roof. At the peak, he adopted nearly 500 turtles. Some were released, some were found in parks, and some were intercepted in packages.
He tried to receive help. Some citizens found a plastic bag moving around on the side of the road. When they opened the plastic bag, it turned out to be a crocodile turtle. Dying. He thinks that even if the turtle is not needed, should it be wrapped in a black garbage plastic bag and disposed of by the side of the road? That was actually a kind of torture, very cruel.
In addition to adopting a Brazilian tortoise as big as a palm, he also adopted a huge shield-armed tortoise, the heaviest one weighing nearly 30 kilograms. The reason for being abandoned is because the worker’s sister left and no one took care of her. This shield-armed tortoise is more than ten years old, that is, it has been raised for more than ten years, but it was abandoned for such a simple reason. He would ask, is it really possible to let go so easily? This also made him feel deeply.
“You see a turtle’s shell, why it developed like this, and you know what it’s been through before. Some turtles are beautiful, with a smooth shell, and you know it’s doing well. Some turtles are like painted turtles, and you see its Shell, you know it’s been through pain.”
Every turtle has its own story. He understands that some people have to abandon them due to immigration, serious illness of the owner, old age, or even the death of some owners, but as a voluntary “shelter”, he does not want the abandoned turtles to continue to be hurt. Destiny, “It’s not that if I have a plastic bag and a fish tank, I’ll give it to you. I don’t want to make such a pairing. I hope that it can really guarantee the life of the turtle in the future. It’s not just a need. Some people here abandon Adoption, there are people who want to adopt, it’s just a match like this.”
He emphasized that the purpose of setting up the “Turtle Way” page is to find a better life for abandoned turtles, unlike other concerned organizations. In addition to advocating adoption rather than buying, he will try his best to find schools or large institutions to adopt turtles. He feels that the school has more resources, space and continuity, and has the ability to adopt a larger breeding method so that the turtles can get a better living environment. In just a few years, he arranged for 21 schools to adopt more than 200 aquatic turtles and more than 60 tortoises.
Bringing tortoises into school, he told his classmates: “We are not promoting people to raise tortoises, but to persuade you not to raise them. If you don’t have the ability or the conditions, you really don’t want to raise them.”
2023-05-24 01:01:08
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