Turtle victory

Turtle victory

Greenpeace has welcomed the Japanese government's May 22 announcement that it will stop importing shell from the endangered hawksbill turtle. Japan has been the major market for hawksbill turtle products.

Japan has offered to phase out its turtle shell imports over three years and drop its reservations against the listing of the hawksbill under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Under the CITES, any country can file a reservation when it refuses to recognise a ban in international trade of a particular species.

Greenpeace is now urging Japan to drop its reservations on other sea animals, including six species of whales. Japan has filed the largest number of reservations of any country in the world. n

From GLW issue 14