CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How many golden coin turtles are there in total?

Over 1 billion.

2014 can be described as the year when the speculation bubble burst. First, the price of the Annan turtle plummeted and no one was interested in it (it has recently dropped to dozens of yuan each and no one is buying it). Then, the price of the black-necked turtle dropped rapidly and no one was buying it. The golden coin turtle, which had been speculated at a sky-high price, also fell in response.

The sky-high speculation bubble burst

The golden coin turtle, also known as the three-lined box turtle (scientific name: Cuora trifasciata), belongs to the class Reptilia, order Testudinata, and family Testudinidae in animal taxonomy.

There are quite a few golden coin turtles, mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and other subtropical countries and regions in China. However, speculators and turtle dealers have promoted them as "scarce" and "mysterious" through TV ads and newspapers, and the prices have risen wildly: the price of a seedling has risen from a few dozen yuan to more than 50,000 yuan, and the price of a mature male turtle has risen from a few hundred yuan to more than 500,000 yuan, an increase of more than 10,000 times.

Price is a manifestation of value, and the price of a commodity should be consistent with its value. However, due to the extreme speculation, the price of golden coin turtles has increased from tens of yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan, an increase of more than 10,000 times. The price of golden coin turtles has been infinitely exaggerated, causing them to deviate seriously from their own value, forming a serious market bubble and accumulating risks. The higher the increase, the greater the decline.

Mr. Chen, an old golden coin turtle breeder in Dongguan, is both helpless and angry: "The price of golden coin turtles has risen too fast and too high. It's worrying for us old breeders, and it's even more frightening for newbies. Just imagine that a newly hatched seedling costs tens of thousands of yuan each, and an adult male turtle costs hundreds of thousands of yuan each. Who can afford it? Newbies won't join in. The lack of newbies joining in is a major reason for the sharp drop in the price of golden coin turtles this time. These are all caused by the rampant speculation by associations and cooperatives."

Mr. Lu, a professional golden coin turtle dealer in Qinzhou, is still frightened by the sharp drop in the price of golden coin turtles: "Since the year before last, I realized that the price of golden coin turtles has risen too high. It is impossible to rise any further. If it rises any further, it will go to the sky. The higher it goes, the fewer people will buy it. There is a price but no demand, and no one dares to buy it. In the past two years, many people say that those who buy and sell golden coin turtles are actually buying and selling by themselves, or deliberately releasing false trading information to deliberately lure people to buy. But a seedling that is only about 10 grams just after hatching costs tens of thousands of yuan, and a male turtle costs hundreds of thousands of yuan. Only a fool would buy it. Fortunately, I sold my golden coin turtles last year. Now many breeders ask me to buy them at a low price, but it is easy to buy but difficult to sell. Especially this drop is completely different from the previous drops. Very few people bought during this drop - the ban on private ownership has been upgraded, and no one is willing to take policy risks."

A conscientious leader of a certain turtle association admitted frankly; "The sky-high prices of golden coin turtles are all the result of speculation. How high it rises, how low it will fall. This is an inevitable law. The speculation methods for golden coin turtles are the same as those for Pur's tea, orchids, Annam turtles, black-necked turtles, and alligator snapping turtles, and the ending is the same. However, for golden coin turtles, the real reason for the plunge is not just the bursting of the speculation bubble, but the more important reason is the policy prohibition - an upgraded ban on private ownership."

Upgraded ban on private panic selling

Another reason for the sharp drop in the price of golden coin turtles this time is the upgrade of the ban on private ownership. According to the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, in order to promote the protection of golden coin turtles in various countries, international wildlife protection agencies will upgrade the golden coin turtles to first-class protected animals, and individuals are strictly prohibited from breeding and selling golden coin turtles. In other words, the upgrade of golden coin turtles is unconditional nationalization, and private breeding and sales are prohibited. This will be a fatal blow to golden coin turtle breeders, and the wealth accumulated from golden coin turtles will disappear in an instant.

International wildlife protection experts pointed out: Upgrading the protection of the golden coin turtle is an inevitable trend, a need for international protection of wild species, and cannot be stopped by any individual or organization. Protecting the golden coin turtle species is not just about protecting and controlling the number, but more importantly, protecting the purity of this species. It is undeniable that many Chinese breeders have made efforts to study the artificial breeding technology of golden coin turtles and have achieved certain success. But this cannot be a reason to oppose the upgrading of golden coin turtles. Upgrading protection is a public welfare behavior, while artificial breeding is a naked business behavior with a strong utilitarian color. At present, in the process of breeding, many breeders use golden coin turtles and other turtles to crossbreed in pursuit of immediate interests, which seriously damages the purity of golden coin turtles. This is an open secret in the industry. At present, the golden coin turtle breeding industry lacks supervision, and there are many chaotic operations, which seriously damages the purity of the golden coin turtle species. Based on the current situation, it is very necessary to upgrade the protection of golden coin turtles. Many breeders use China's artificial breeding of golden coin turtles as a reason for opposition, which is just a self-righteous excuse. Perhaps the success of artificial breeding technology can sustain the number of golden coin turtles for a certain period of time, but it cannot protect the purity of the golden coin turtle species. In the long run, artificial breeding can protect golden coin turtles, especially in the absence of industry self-discipline and supervision.

Faced with the policy risk of upgrading and banning breeding, associations and cooperatives, on the one hand, released a large number of messages to maintain market stability, saying that there would be no upgrade, or that it would not be upgraded soon, or that they were not afraid of upgrading, or that they would not confiscate all of them (in fact, upgrading is inevitable, and no individual or organization, including associations and cooperatives, can resist international protection policies and cannot prevent upgrading), and continued to force the price of golden coin turtles. On the other hand, they used strong marketing to attract new buyers who were unaware of the truth to buy.

"Everyone in the industry knows that the upgrading of golden coin turtles is inevitable, and no one has the ability to confront the country or the international community. The only thing we can do now is to sell the golden coin turtles before the upgrade and cash in. Although it is not easy to sell, we will sell as many as we can." Farmers in Nanning, Qinzhou, Huizhou, Dongguan, Shunde, Guangzhou, Maoming and other places have become frightened birds, trying to find buyers everywhere and hinting that "the price is negotiable, the key is to be willing to buy."

In May 2012, Mr. Wu from Shenzhen bought 30 golden turtles worth more than 3 million yuan. The next month, he learned that the golden turtles were going to be upgraded and many people were selling them. He decided to sell them as soon as possible, but after contacting many buyers and breeders, he found that everyone was selling them and no one was buying them. He has been selling them until now and still can't sell them. He woke up from his dream: no one dared to take the policy risk. So many so-called golden turtle trading information were sold by themselves, or there was no actual transaction. He regretted it: "It's all my fault that I was too impulsive and blind, otherwise I wouldn't have been fooled. Now I have lost all my money and I want to cry but I have no tears."