I read this article today about a ban on the hunting of Snapping Turtles in Ontario. Snapping turtles can still be hunted by Ontarians that have a fishing license and because becoming a mature snapping turtle of about 20 years of age requires miraculous luck in the first place (0.07% make it in Algonquin Park where hunting is illegal!) hunting them at an undocumented rate may not be advisable. Ok, I guess that's fine.
Oh wait, what' s this? “Nine of the 12 turtles that we had tested ... were at a level that was unsafe for any woman of childbearing age or any child under the age of 15,” Urquhart said of the PCB levels, noting three of the turtles were not safe for anyone to consume. “If you eat snapping turtles, because they live so long, it could be really hazardous to your health depending how old the turtle is and where you hunt from.”
That's from the same article in the Toronto Sun. Interestingly, a number of other news sources reporting on the same story (some examples: 1, 2, 3) failed to include anything about the PCB levels in the turtles and only mentioned the hunting issue and concerns for the species' extinction.
At least the issue of the turtle's toxicity is being mentioned in some articles, I guess. But a very important point is being glossed over. If you recall grade 9 science class, you may remember Bioamplification or Biomagnification. In short, this is the process where the level of toxins in a living organism increases depending on where they sit in the food chain. Usually the toxins like PCBs are present in the water or plants because of pollution from industrial waste, chemicals or agricultural run-off. These toxins have adverse effects on all of the living organisms that come into contact with the pollutant but the severity magnifies up the food chain. The adverse effects are most prominent in larger organisms because they eat smaller organisms who have eaten smaller organisms, etc. who have all been contaminated.
So, my concern is: if 9 out of 12 turtles were at a level that was unsafe for women of childbearing age and children under 15. . .3 of which were not safe for anyone to consume and snapping turtles have a life span exceeding 40 years (I realize that's not a concrete number). . .what kind of state is our fresh water in?? What does that mean for us who, in the past, on average, have lived for double that amount of time? The article says that turtles don't face strict regulations like fish for consumption do. . .but it doesn't mean the fish come from better water or conditions, just that they don't live as long and aren't able to accumulate as many toxins. For humans though, that generally live longer than both fish and snapping turtles, eat much more, especially with a growing obesity epidemic and are supposedly at the top of the food chain, I think there is reason for concern.
PCBs and Mercury (which were both present, though mercury wasn't at unacceptable levels) can lead to impaired functioning and birth defects. The effects of toxins are amplified in the eggs of the mother and also concentrated in breast milk which is obviously detrimental to the development of a baby. That means our babies or our children's babies if you are too old to have them at this point.
Yes, we should probably stop hunting snapping turtles. We should also take better care of the environment and especially our water systems that sustain ecosystems, animals, plants (read FOOD and DRINKING WATER), run into the oceans and seas and keep all of us alive and healthy.
The level of toxicity in snapping turtles is scary. It seems that putting a ban on hunting them won't change much if their habitat is already poisoned. Why aren't we doing more to address this issue?
Oh wait, what' s this? “Nine of the 12 turtles that we had tested ... were at a level that was unsafe for any woman of childbearing age or any child under the age of 15,” Urquhart said of the PCB levels, noting three of the turtles were not safe for anyone to consume. “If you eat snapping turtles, because they live so long, it could be really hazardous to your health depending how old the turtle is and where you hunt from.”
That's from the same article in the Toronto Sun. Interestingly, a number of other news sources reporting on the same story (some examples: 1, 2, 3) failed to include anything about the PCB levels in the turtles and only mentioned the hunting issue and concerns for the species' extinction.
At least the issue of the turtle's toxicity is being mentioned in some articles, I guess. But a very important point is being glossed over. If you recall grade 9 science class, you may remember Bioamplification or Biomagnification. In short, this is the process where the level of toxins in a living organism increases depending on where they sit in the food chain. Usually the toxins like PCBs are present in the water or plants because of pollution from industrial waste, chemicals or agricultural run-off. These toxins have adverse effects on all of the living organisms that come into contact with the pollutant but the severity magnifies up the food chain. The adverse effects are most prominent in larger organisms because they eat smaller organisms who have eaten smaller organisms, etc. who have all been contaminated.
So, my concern is: if 9 out of 12 turtles were at a level that was unsafe for women of childbearing age and children under 15. . .3 of which were not safe for anyone to consume and snapping turtles have a life span exceeding 40 years (I realize that's not a concrete number). . .what kind of state is our fresh water in?? What does that mean for us who, in the past, on average, have lived for double that amount of time? The article says that turtles don't face strict regulations like fish for consumption do. . .but it doesn't mean the fish come from better water or conditions, just that they don't live as long and aren't able to accumulate as many toxins. For humans though, that generally live longer than both fish and snapping turtles, eat much more, especially with a growing obesity epidemic and are supposedly at the top of the food chain, I think there is reason for concern.
PCBs and Mercury (which were both present, though mercury wasn't at unacceptable levels) can lead to impaired functioning and birth defects. The effects of toxins are amplified in the eggs of the mother and also concentrated in breast milk which is obviously detrimental to the development of a baby. That means our babies or our children's babies if you are too old to have them at this point.
Yes, we should probably stop hunting snapping turtles. We should also take better care of the environment and especially our water systems that sustain ecosystems, animals, plants (read FOOD and DRINKING WATER), run into the oceans and seas and keep all of us alive and healthy.
The level of toxicity in snapping turtles is scary. It seems that putting a ban on hunting them won't change much if their habitat is already poisoned. Why aren't we doing more to address this issue?
