Poaching for Profit and Pet Trade in Madagascar

Poachers threaten the Spider Tortoise with extinction along the coast of Madagascar in the Northern regions. They sell them to be eaten by the locals, and to fuel the exotic pet trade- so much that the wild numbers of this species of tortoise has fallen by almost 90%. This species is in massive demand due to their worth; up to $1000 each, which is seen as a necessary source of income for the poorer areas in the country's poor financial state. Also with the encroachment of the beaches, their habitats have been destroyed. There is an estimated 2 million Spider Tortoises left in the wild. For more information, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8224000/8224143.stm or contact the Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. There has also been shocking amounts of Madagascan Lemur which have been brutally slaughtered for bush meat, sold to restaurant owners for what they call "delicacies". Poachers will shoot them and smoke them to be sold to the poorer areas all around Madagascar. Already 15 people have been arrested for killing lemurs in the forsets with slingshots and guns in the last week. If the market for lemur meat increases, this could mean a global scale of hunting these animals, making them extict within several years. Donor Agencies have been built in order to save these animals, but they still need help to raise awareness as to not eating these poor creatures and selling them for people who simply want a trophy of their wealth. For more information on the poaching of lemurs, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk.earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8210000/8210355.stm
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