1 in 5 reptile species threatened
One in every five reptile species is now threatened with extinction, a figure that is growing at an accelerating rate driven by the pet trade and smuggling.
Where this was said
The $100,000 Turtle: China's Insatiable Appetite for Rare Reptiles
At 1:49:56 · chapter starts 1:26:40
Joe Rogan's shock is palpable when Eric Goode walks him through the economics of the turtle trade. Golden coin turtles (Cuora trifasciata) sell for $20,000 to $40,000 each in China, where they are consumed for their alleged medicinal properties — purportedly curing cancer and other diseases. [1] — Eric Goode "Golden coin turtles sell for $20,000 to $40,000 in China. Yunnan box turtles — once thought extinct for 50 years — can fetch $100,000 or mo…" 1:53:10 The Yunnan box turtle, thought extinct for more than half a century and recently rediscovered, commands $100,000 or more. Wild-caught specimens are worth dramatically more than farmed ones because Asian buyers believe wild animals accumulate more medicinal potency from their diet — a logic parallel to wild rhino horn versus farmed horn. Eric describes 15-story turtle farm buildings in China and vast indoor turtle markets where rare US native turtles — wood turtles, spotted turtles, three-toed box turtles from Missouri and Oklahoma — arrive stuffed in socks in luggage, valued at half a million dollars a shipment once they clear customs in Hong Kong. The scale of this trade, Eric argues, eclipses the more visible rhino horn and ivory markets in sheer per-pound value.
1 in 5 Reptile Species Is Now Threatened With Extinction
One in every five reptile species is now threatened with extinction, and that number is growing. The exotic pet trade, habitat loss, and illegal smuggling are all accelerating the collapse — and most people don't even know it's happening because reptiles lack the charisma of pandas or elephants.
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