AR-News: (US) (NC) Officials seize exotic turtles

[MEATSTINKS at aol.com]

Hendersonville (NC) Times-News, January 26, 2004
http://www.hendersonvillenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040126/NEWS/401
260318/1042
Officials seize exotic turtles

 Harmony Johnson
Times-News Staff Writer






The owner of a Fletcher pet store faces misdemeanor charges after N.C. 
Wildlife Resource Commission officers confiscated more than 300 turtles from the 
business. 

Wildlife officers seized 311 red-eared sliders and yellow bellied sliders on 
Jan. 6 from Exotic Imports and Pet Supplies, said Sgt. Rob Hebb. The turtles 
are protected from sale or purchase under a state law enacted in 2003. 

Clay Smith, owner of the wholesale animal and pet supply store, was charged 
with unlawful possession of red-eared sliders, unlawful possession of yellow 
bellied sliders, unlawful sale of red-eared sliders and unlawful sale of yellow 
bellied sliders. He is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Tuesday. 

Exotic Imports, located off of Butler Bridge Road, has sold a variety of 
reptiles, fish and other animals to pet stores for 15 years, Smith said. He bought 
the business three years ago, he said. 

Smith said Friday that he did not know he had violated any law until Wildlife 
officers came to Exotic Imports and took the turtles. 

"The law was changed, and we didn't know anything about it," he said. 

Senate Bill 825 prohibits the "commercial taking" of the large basking and 
sliding turtles that make up the Emydidae and Trionychidae families, which 
include red-eared sliders, yellow bellied sliders, diamondback terrapins, spotted 
turtles, bog turtles and others. 

According to the law, commercial taking is defined as taking, possessing, 
collecting, transporting, buying or selling more than four turtles. It does not 
apply to veterinarians, government-operated zoos or scientific research. 

The law also does not apply to the collection of the turtles found in the 
wild, as long as the collector has no more than four and does not buy or sale 
them. 

The new legislation went into effect July 1, but other federal and state laws 
have protected both slider species for many years, Hebb said. 

A law set by the United States Department of Agriculture prohibits the sale 
of red-eared sliders under 4 inches in diameter. The law is intended to prevent 
children from swallowing hatchling turtles, which once were widely sold as 
pets. 

North Carolina health regulations prohibit selling the turtles as pets 
because some carry salmonella. Another state law makes it illegal to sell any 
species of animal native to North Carolina, which includes the yellow bellied 
slider. Red-eared sliders are native to Louisiana, Hebb said. 

Senate Bill 825 protects "all the species of turtles, including nonnative," 
Hebb said. It is intended to stop commercial exploitation of the turtles, he 
said. 

"We don't want to have our wildlife being taken commercially," he said. "We 
don't want people to make money off wildlife." 

According to Wildlife Resource Commission statistics, commercial harvest of 
turtles jump by 5,000 percent in the past three years; from 460 turtles in 2000 
to more than 23,000 last year. A large percentage of the turtles are being 
exported to Asian countries, where they are used for food, according to 
information from the commission. 

Officials were concerned that so many turtles would be exported that their 
loss would damage current ecosystems and not give the turtle population time to 
recover, Hebb said. They also were concerned that sliders sold as pets would 
be released into the wild, he said. 

"They bring disease, and they also compete for the habitats of our native 
species," he said. 

The Fletcher incident is the first case of its kind in the state, Hebb said. 
The Wildlife Commission received a tip that Exotic Imports was selling other 
animal species that were native to North Carolina and officers obtained a 
warrant to search the business, he said. 

When officers arrived, they found a few yellow bellied sliders and more than 
300 red-eared sliders swimming in four large plastic tubs at the business, 
Hebb said. 

"We didn't know that they had that many," he said. 

The turtles appeared to be well-cared for, and Smith was cooperative as 
officers counted the animals and sorted them into containers for traveling, Hebb 
said. Until a judge makes a decision in the case, the turtles are being held as 
evidence by a wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in reptile care, he said. 

Smith likely will not get the turtles back, Hebb said. If convicted, he faces 
fines of up to $200 per misdemeanor offense, plus court costs. 

"Our main concern is to stop the commercial taking of the turtles and all 
wildlife for that matter," Hebb said. 

Johnson can be reached at 694-7881 or by e-mail at 
harmony.johnson at hendersonvillenews.com. 
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