Freshwater turtles are among the most heavily traded animals in the world. The illegal wildlife trade for food, medicine, and the pet industry is driving many species toward extinction with severe welfare harms.
Freshwater turtle welfare harms in the illegal trade are severe and multistage. Wild-caught turtles are often kept without food, water, or temperature regulation during transport lasting days to weeks. High mortality rates during transport — sometimes exceeding 50% — indicate the extent of suffering among those that do not survive. Survivors enter food markets, traditional medicine supply chains, or pet markets in physiologically compromised condition. Pet turtles that die rapidly after purchase represent welfare failures across the entire capture-to-sale chain. Road mortality during nesting migrations causes traumatic injuries — pregnant females struck by vehicles may survive with injuries that prevent successful nesting. The combination of trade pressure and habitat loss is causing rapid population collapse across Asian freshwater turtle species that cannot sustain these withdrawal rates.