RAPID RESPONSE NETWORK FOR CONFISCATED TURTLES RWPZoo is a proud partner of the SAFE North American Freshwater turtle program’s Rapid Response Network for Confiscated Turtles, taking in nearly 75 confiscated turtles since 2021. The Zoo cared for 10 Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina) confiscated from a private individual in 2021, 18 Eastern box turtles from a 2022 confiscation at JFK airport that were heading out of the country to overseas markets and 16 Musk turtles that were being illegally offered for sale online, and 16 Eastern box turtles confiscated from LAX airport in 2023. These confiscations often consist of hundreds of turtles and due to the space requirements and staff time needed to care for such large numbers of turtles, RWPZ takes in only a portion of these turtles while our local Rapid Response Network partners contribute by providing holding space and care for the rest. Confiscated turtles are frequently dehydrated, malnourished, and often carry diseases. These turtles come right from the site of the confiscation directly to the Zoo and other partner holding facilities that can provide strict quarantine facilities dedicated to housing and care. Once they arrive, all turtles are evaluated, disease tested by the veterinary department, and DNA samples are submitted to help identify where the turtles may have originated from. All turtles are held in these quarantine facilities until a clean bill of health can be given and permanent placement is determined. The Zoo and SAFE partners are working to establish protocols for either releasing confiscated turtles back into the wild responsibly or for integrating them into breeding programs that could produce offspring that will have a conservation value by providing young turtles for population augmentation and reintroduction efforts across their range.
EASTERN BOX TURTLE BREEDING PROGRAM: Starting in 2019 a cooperative program between RIDEM Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Roger Williams Park Zoo was started to house and breed eastern box turtles, a Rhode Island native species. The scenario in which box turtles are taken from the wild to keep as pets and subsequently surrendered to wildlife clinics is common. It is usually challenging to justify releasing these animals for various reasons (e.g., unknown areas of collection, the potential for disease, etc.). However, the possibility exists in many cases for these individual turtles to serve as breeders for conservation programs. The Division of Fish and Wildlife would like to explore the possibility of creating a program in which “unreleasable” box turtles are housed and bred by the RWPZ at their facilities with the ultimate intent of headstarting and releasing young turtles with a genetic heritage of Rhode Island origin into the wild.
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