Is it OK to eat turtles in Cambodia?
Last night at a tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Cambodia (Chhaeb) I was invited to join my hosts at the guesthouse to drink beer and eat turtle meat.
In my travels I can only ever recall the concept of eating turtles as illegal or at least wrong for ecological reasons. I can't recall any place I've been where I've seen turtles eaten openly without at least travel guides recommending you not partake.
But even though I haven't seen it done before that doesn't mean that there's not plenty of species of turtles that are very common and not under threat. One hint they might not be common here was that my host told me it costs about USD $10 per kilo.
It was not a soft-shelled turtle and it was not particularly large. In my research I've learned that the former are farmed so OK and the giant turtles are endangered so not OK, but that's all I know.
(By the way I'm struggling a bit with the wording and finding the right tags. I'm not about to go on a crusade telling off locals for eating traditional food. I just want to know if it's something that shouldn't be encouraged for tourists to do for reasons of sustainability, etc.)
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Do they eat turtles in Cambodia?
The Asian giant softshell turtle is regarded as a 'high status' food and is now endangered because it is eaten by humans. Pablo Kang, Australia's representative in Cambodia, was forced to issue a grovelling apology after posting photographs of his meal to Twitter while visiting the nation.Is it safe to eat a turtle?
These creatures are an unsafe food choice as they carry several illness-causing chemicals such as toxins, heavy metals, and other environmental contaminants. A turtle meal could quickly come back to haunt a person with drastic consequences requiring immediate medical attention.Is it illegal to eat a tortoise?
The meat of most turtles is edible and people do, in some cultures, eat turtles. Keep in mind that several turtle species are threatened and that there are legislative laws against the hunting and eating of turtles. Doing so is illegal and bad for the wild population of the species.Is it ethical to eat turtle?
\u201cIn most countries [home to endangered sea turtles], it is actually forbidden by penalty and prison sentence to consume any turtle products, be it eggs or meat,\u201d said Christine Figgener, a marine conservation biologist whose anti-plastic-straw work landed her on Time's list of Next Generation Leaders in 2018.A Send Off for One of Cambodia's Rarest Turtles
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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