Contributing to the Conservation of Local Turtle Species

Coming Together to Help Trafficked Turtles

Since 2021, Roger Williams Park Zoo has cared for nearly 75 confiscated turtles from the illegal pet trade. These turtles, which included native Eastern box turtles and Musk turtles, were seized from private dealers found selling turtles illegally online or, in the latest incident, airports like LAX Airport. These confiscations often consist of hundreds of turtles who are often found dehydrated, malnourished, and in many cases, carrying disease.

Roger Williams Park Zoo takes in a portion of the turtles alongside its local partners, Zoo New England, New England Aquarium, and Mystic Aquarium, to properly care for the individual needs of these confiscated turtles. This concerted effort allows each site to provide adequate quarantine space and care needed. These strict quarantine facilities are dedicated to the housing and care of newly confiscated turtles. Turtles need a significant amount of specialized care, especially when they are removed from the natural environments they evolved to thrive in.

Each turtle is given a thorough health exam, which includes testing for relevant diseases and parasites. Thankfully, the collection of rescued turtles currently residing at RWPZoo, while thin and dehydrated, are in better shape than other confiscations and require good husbandry and care until a clean bill of health can be given. These turtles continue to grow steadily in weight and size thanks to the thoughtful care of the Zoo’s veterinary technicians.

DNA samples are submitted to help identify where the turtles may have originated. If that can be confirmed, they’ll be released into their wild home ranges. All turtles will remain in these specialized quarantine facilities until permanent placement is determined.

RWPZoo and SAFE partners are working diligently to establish protocols for responsibly releasing confiscated turtles into the wild and/or integrating them into breeding programs. These programs would benefit long-term conservation by providing young turtles for population augmentation and reintroduction efforts across their native ranges.

North American Freshwater Turtle SAFE

Since 2019, the Zoo has been an active member of the AZA North American Freshwater Turtle SAFE Program, which works collaboratively with AZA partners, state and federal agencies, the Turtle Survival Alliance, the Turtle Conservancy, the Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles (CCITT), and countless other conservation organizations.

Though the program addresses all terrapene species, it focuses on five species of North American freshwater turtles: bog turtle (critically endangered), spotted turtle (endangered), wood turtle (endangered), Blanding’s turtle (endangered) and Eastern box turtle (vulnerable).

The SAFE Program continues to generate procedures relevant to the conservation of all species of turtles, including handling practices, increasing holding capacity for confiscated turtles, and the recovery of seized animals whenever possible. “Confiscation to Conservation” is the SAFE goal.

The Future of North American Turtles

Today, regulatory protections for wild turtles are inadequate to help slow down the overall decline of these species. Habitat loss, habitat degradation, and road mortality remain the leading causes of decline. A proactive approach is needed to conserve turtles, including efforts to:

•Restore declining populations through reintroductions and population augmentation.

•Reclaim lost or degraded habitats.

•Mitigate road mortality when possible.

This will require an integrated approach involving field and zoo biologists, veterinarians, federal and state regulators, and wildlife law enforcement officials.

Due to the high demand for North American turtles overseas and the high price they command, illegal trafficking has quickly become the new leading cause of the decline in North American turtle populations, second to habitat loss and degradation. These confiscations number in the thousands annually. At present, both state and federal law enforcement efforts to curtail illegal trafficking of turtles are at a crisis level. Simply put, the numbers seized in illegal trade exceed the capacity of state and federal agencies and cooperating zoos to hold them. This capacity needs to be expanded - this is where RWPZoo is helping to make a difference!

Anyone Can Help Protect Native Turtles

Leave wild turtles wild. Did you know that it is illegal in Rhode Island and many states to remove and possess any native wildlife, including turtles, from the wild without proper permits?

Crossing guard duty. Late May - early June is turtle nesting season. Due to increased habitat loss and development, turtles often cross busy roads to reach their nesting sites. These turtles usually seek out the same egg-laying spots each year and are hard-wired to do so. In most cases, the best thing you can do is to leave them alone. If you notice a turtle in the middle of the road at risk of being hit, the best thing to do (if safe) is to move the turtle off the road in the direction it is heading. Never remove a turtle to relocate it to what you think is a better or safer spot. Turtles have home ranges where they know to locate food, shelter, and nesting sites.