Rafetus turtle update5/31/2023 Intensive, targeted surveys are needed in the Red River paleo-drainage of northern Viet Nam and adjoining Lao PDR, and possibly in Yunnan and elsewhere. Artificial insemination was attempted several times but did not result in egg development (Kuchling and Shunqing 2015). The captive male and late female in China were subjects of an intensive captive breeding program, but all eggs produced were infertile. An examination of the male in 2015 revealed that he had lost the majority of his penis probably during a past fight with another male and is unable to inseminate the female with the remaining stump without seminal grooves. The Asian Turtle Program is working with villagers and stakeholders to protect the two known wild individuals in Viet Nam. It is fully protected under Vietnamese Decree 160 ND-CP 2013, and a conservation action plan for Viet Nam has been drafted, to be published in summer 2018. Rafetus swinhoei was listed in CITES Appendix II in 2013 and is a species that is Protected for Beneficial, Economic or Scientific Value under China’s Wild Animals Protection Law.
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