The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
State agencies, organizations work to end poaching of turtles
The illegal collection and trade of wildlife, which can involve sophisticated international operations, is threatening Connecticut’s native turtle species, according to state officials.
Driven both by demand for North American turtles in east Asia and by trade in the United States, poaching of wild turtles can devastate local populations, experts said. Efforts are ongoing to protect the reptiles, including through law enforcement, preserving habitat, and education.
“The risk of illegal collection for profit or trade in Connecticut is definitely something that we’re concerned about,” said Mike Ravesi, a wildlife biologist for the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.
Officials confirmed there have been significant turtle confiscations in the state in recent years. But the DEEP cannot disclose details due to pending investigations, said Jenny Dickson, who heads the agency’s Wildlife Division.
In some documented cases in other states, poachers have worked for “well-organized international criminal syndicates,” said Scott Buchanan, co-chairman of the Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles and who serves as Rhode Island’s state herpetologist.
Buchanan described the CCITT as a group of law enforcement officials, biologists, conservationists and others from across the country who came together after recognizing the need for a coordinated response to turtle trafficking, which can cross state and national borders.
“There’s a lot of demand from overseas, particularly China … but there’s also a lot of demand in the United States and western Europe,” Buchanan said. “The way (the smuggling) works is that some guy, some local guy, starts collecting turtles based on some
local knowledge, and then he gets involved in the internet somehow and then one way or another he’s finding a middleman that’s shipping it overseas,” Buchanan said.
The alleged trade affected several species native to Connecticut, according to federal authorities in a release and an affidavit filed in federal court in New Jersey, where an undercover agent investigated the operation. Court documents do not suggest, however, that the case directly involved Connecticut.
Connecticut’s turtles
In Connecticut, it is illegal to keep native turtle species as pets, according to Dickson, the head of the DEEP’s Wildlife Division. It also is illegal to remove turtles from the wild or liberate wild turtles being held in captivity, she said, noting there is an exception during snapping turtle season, when individuals may collect up to 10 adult snappers for their personal food supply.
Connecticut is home to eight native land, freshwater and coastal turtle species, including the bog turtle, which is considered endangered by the state.
Another native species is the Eastern box turtle, which Dickson called “one of the most rapidly declining (turtle) species in the region.” It is designated a species of special concern, according to the DEEP.
Ravesi said box turtles appear on black markets, as do wood turtles and spotted turtles — two other Connecticut species of special concern,
For turtles that end up abroad, “there’s a variety of reasons why they get sent to Asia,” Ravesi said.
“There is a pet trade, where they get kept as pets. They’re used for food and then perceived medical benefits and … their parts are often made into jewelry and other decorative items,” he said. Since hatchlings can face mortality rates as high as 90 percent and since many turtles take a decade or more to reach reproductive age, Ravesi said, the removal of a single adult turtle can significantly affect an imperiled population.
How big is the threat?
Overall, habitat loss represents the biggest threat to turtles, according to Buchanan, the CCITT co-chairman. “Then you add the illegal trade to that and you’re talking about specific populations being hit really hard all at once … and you just have a recipe for disaster,” he said.
He said targeted poaching, in which individuals may collect dozens of species from one area, can result in “unsustainable” population losses.
“We’re not talking about the extinction of the entire species of, say, Eastern box turtles, but what we can expect is that they might be wiped out of an entire state, like Rhode Island for example, if illegal collection should take hold and continue unabated,” Buchanan said.
In other states, “illegal collection has been documented to be responsible for wiping out … localized populations,” he said.
Ravesi encouraged residents who see suspicious behavior, either online or in person, to report it to the DEEP by calling 860-424-3333 or emailing deep.dispatch@ct.gov.
He also warned against releasing captive-held turtles into the wild, where they could spread disease.
“If people are ever in doubt as to what to do feel free to contact us,” he said.
Those interested in keeping turtles as pets might want to think twice.
“Consider choosing a different type of animal to keep as a pet, as there is no way to be 100 percent certain a dealer is operating ethically,” the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service told Hearst Connecticut Media in a statement provided by spokesperson Bridget Macdonald. “Pet turtles require specialized care for decades, so be sure you are ready for the commitment. If you are, don’t shop, adopt. Check local shelters and local turtle and tortoise societies for unwanted turtles.”
Long journey home
About two years ago, authorities confiscated around 35 snapping turtles from a Connecticut residence, said Dickson.
Since the turtles’ origins were unknown, the agency had to rehome them, Dickson said. Mystic Aquarium agreed to take them temporarily, she said, but some still have not found permanent homes.
And returning turtles to the wild is not as simple as dropping them off at the nearest pond. To prevent genetic harm to local populations, conservationists say they need to go back to their original habitats.
Pam Meier is a Madison-based turtle rehabilitator who works closely with the DEEP to care for turtles that were confiscated, surrendered by their owners or found far from their natural habitat. The latter group of turtles usually are assumed to have escaped from an owner or been abandoned, Meier said.
Some of the turtles Meier works with will never make it back to the wild.
“You really need to know where they came from, and you need to know what kind of habitat they need and you need to know where the populations are,” Meier said. “Any turtle that is of unknown origin and has been in captivity for any significant period of time is unreleasable.”
Like all animals, each turtle species exhibits genetic variation across its range, according to Collins, the head of North American conservation for the Turtle Survival Alliance. He said different populations have characteristics that help them succeed in their local habitats.
Collins’ organization has started using genetic analysis to identify confiscated turtles’ origins, he said. The process recently helped pinpoint five different states of origin for dozens of wood turtles confiscated from one residence, he said.
But “before you can analyze a given confiscated turtle you basically have to have a complete genetic library for that species over its entire range,” he said. “The time-consuming aspect is that front end in building that library, and that does take years.”