Big Snapper

An 87-lb snapping turtle was caught in a North Carolina pond. (News source.)

Oklahoma Ban

Oklahoma has put in place a 3-year moratorium on commercial turtle harvesting in order to study the effect on their native turtles. (News source.)

Zoo Breeding

Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in India has bred Indian painted roof turtles. (News source.)

Northern Territory Wildlife Park has bred a pair of death adders, resulting in a 25 baby litter. (News source.)

Turtle Poaching

Missouri game officers arrested several men for poaching turtles. (News source.)

Egg Poacher Caught

Malaysian police caught a man trying to sell 300 illegal turtle eggs. (News source.)

Vietnam Turtle Controversial

A Vietnamese biologist contends that recent reports of the rediscovery of Rafetus swinhoei in the wild (by US zoo researchers) is not conclusive, and better evidence needs to be offered -- not just a picture. (News source.)

Zoo Rediscovers Turtle

From the announcement:

"Cleveland Metroparks Zoo today announced the discovery of a critically endangered turtle in northern Vietnam that previously was thought to be extinct in the wild. Experts from the Zoo's Asian Turtle Program confirmed they have identified the only known living specimen of a Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) in nature.
"After three years of searching, Zoo-sponsored researchers focused on a lake just west of Hanoi after residents reported spotting the gigantic turtle there. Field biologists, along with Education for Nature in Vietnam, found and photographed the turtle, allowing scientists to verify it was the rare Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle, which is considered a national treasure in Vietnam."

Snapper Soup

For ideas on making a better snapping turtle soup...

Turtle Politics in Vermont

Controversy brews as biologists disagree with the F&W commissioner's recovery plan for the eastern spiny softshell turtle. (News source.)

Australian Turtle Parasite

Murray River freshwater turtles are dying from infestations of a marine bristle worm. (News source.)

Turtle Hunting Pressure

Because of increasing pressure on wild turtle populations from hunters for the Asian meat market, environmental groups are asking Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, and Texas to stop commercial turtle harvesting. Here's an article on the Oklahoma figures.

Maryland DNR Regs Updated

From the Press Release:

"Today, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced changes to the existing Reptile and Amphibian Possession and Permit regulations. The changes, effective immediately, add six aquatic turtles to the list of regulated species and create a permitted exception for breeding captive turtles with a permit. Aquatic turtles added to the list of regulated species include: eastern painted turtle, midland painted turtle, eastern mud turtle, northern red-bellied cooter, stinkpot, and diamond-backed terrapin." ...
"In 2007, Maryland prohibited commercial take of diamond-backed terrapins. The new regulations formally adopt that legislative change. Diamond-backed terrapins, like the other aquatic turtles listed above, may be bred in captivity with a permit from DNR.
"An individual may take and possess one turtle from each of the species listed. Those animals may be taken from the wild and possessed without a permit but may not be commercially traded or sold. As a result of these regulations, commercial harvest of any aquatic turtle (except snapping turtle) is now prohibited. The new regulations will allow a person with a reptile and amphibian permit from DNR to breed turtles in captivity and possess turtles less-than four inches in length."

Smokin' Turtle

A Chinese man has taught his pet turtle to smoke cigarettes... (News source.)

Turtle Collector Wants Collection Back

After being cleared of charges by a jury, a Georgia turtle collector wants his collection back, but Georgia DNR officials aren't budging yet. (News source.)

[Any investigative authors out there, this story of corrupt wildlife officers, wildlife ownership controversy, and sour grapes in officialdom would make a good book.]

Colorado's Official Reptile

The western painted turtle is now Colorado's state reptile. (News source.)

Push for SC Turtle Regs

Turtles aren't a protected game species in South Carolina, and some conservationists are pushing for regulations, thinking the species are being exploited for the foreign food markets. (News source.)

Malaysia: Just Say No to Turtle Eggs

The Turtle Research and Rehabilitation Group at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu has launched a campaign to get 1 million Malaysians to pledge not to eat terrapin or turtle eggs for the rest of their life. (News source.)

Cambodian Turtle Rescue

150+ "threatened" turtles were rescued from Cambodian fishermen. They were caught for food. Species was not given, but I suspect sea turtles... (News source.)

CDC Report on Turtle Salmonella

The CDC is fighting back against proposals to allow turtle sales, recently releasing a report that points to turtles being responsible for illness in 33 states. (News source.)

Bullfrogs in Oregon

Here's another article on the non-native bullfrog's impact on other species in Oregon. (News source.)

And on a similar topic, because bullfrogs are eating so many baby western painted turtles in Oregon, there are plans to raise the turtles in captivity for release after they are too big to be eaten. (News source.)

Turtle Amendment Not Actually a Repeal

The amendment recently mentioned is not a repeal of the current ban on sales of small turtles, but could lead to that. Or, it could lead to the ban of all pet reptiles. No, not kidding here, and not an overstatement. The idiots who put together the amendment are pushing to place all pet reptiles on equal footing, which might just give the ammunition that anti-reptile groups need to stop American herpetoculture if the industry doesn't do something about it soon. They're betting everything on the salmonella-free turtes, which is fine for turtle farmers, but they shouldn't be screwing around with the rest of the reptile trade. From the Natchez Democrat:

"The U.S. Senate recently passed a farm bill with the 'Domestic Pet Turtle Equality Act' attached, which will either open the market to pet turtle sales or close the market to all reptile pet sales.
"The amendment to the farm bill was added in the Senate, however, and a joint House-Senate committee has to work out a final version of the farm bill to send to the president for signing.
"If the amendment survives the committee and the president signs the bill, within 60 days the Food and Drug Administration will be required to test all of the salmonella-related pets on the market.
"If pet turtles test within a 10 percent prevalence of salmonella among the other animals, the Secretary of Agriculture will have to conduct a study about how turtles can be sold safely as pets.
"Once that study is competed, the Secretary of Agriculture has only two options, to either lift the turtle ban or to ban the sale of other salmonella-related animals."

MD Herp Law Changes

Maryland DNR is planning some changes to the herp regs, adding 6 more turtle species to the regulated species list, with a few other herp species receiving increased protection. (News source.)

State Reptile for Colorado Coming?

Students are trying to get the western painted turtle appointed as Colorado's State Reptile. (News source.)

Red-Bellied Turtles

A state-threatened turtle in Pennsylvania, the red-bellied turtle, may hold up construction work on a new casino. (News source.)

Turtle Amendment Passed?

I haven't really kept up on this, but the Natchez Democrat is reporting that the recently passed Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419) included an amendment repealing the small turtle sales ban (though noting there may be an effort to repeal the repeal). Turtle farms now process eggs to eradicate Salmonella (or some do, anyway; I'd like to see confirmation that all turtle farms do this). The process goes:

"Once the turtles start to lay their eggs on the levees around the turtle ponds, the eggs are gathered daily, and all dirt is removed from the eggs before they are soaked for 10 minutes in a water and Clorox solution.
"After that, they are cleaned in a commercial washer.
"'We run them through an egg washer manufactured for chicken eggs,' Evans said.
"Once washed, the eggs are placed in a special vacuum tank to eradicate any salmonella. After that, they are placed in incubation trays until they hatch, at which time a state veterinarian certifies they are salmonella free."

[Note: Here is the amendment in question, the Domestic Pet Turtle Equality Act.]

Tougher Laws in Florida

New rules for Florida herp owners:
"Anyone seeking to own a python, green anaconda or Nile monitor lizard is now required to get a permit and microchip. The reptiles must be caged. Owners have to answer questions about basic reptile care and have a 'bite response plan.' There's also an annual $100 fee.
"A permit is also required for red-eared slider turtles. It's illegal to allow the turtles to reproduce, and all eggs must be destroyed.
"More information about the reptile permits is available on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Web site, MyFWC.com/permits."

Chinese Protect Turtle

What may be the last female Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle is being protected now with an armed guard at the Changsha zoo, in Hunan Province, where it has lived for over half a century in obscurity. (News source.)

Smuggler Pleads Guilty

A San Francisco pet shop owner has plead guilty to smuggling baby Fly River turtles from Australia. (News source.)

Slider Peril

Red-eared sliders' invasive potential is hitting the Australian news again.

Misc. News

First, there's a brief profile on turtle specialist Jeffrey Lovich here.

Also, information on a new book, The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians, here.

Turtle Protection

A permanent fence has been set up along US 98 in Alabama, to prevent the endangered red-bellied turtle from becoming DOR. (News source.)

Red-Eared Sliders in New Zealand

Here is a brief discussion of the invasive potential of red-eared sliders in New Zealand, following an escaped or released turtle found in the Kawau Stream.

Vietnam Turtle Poachers Caught

A truck carrying turtles and snakes was intercepted by forest rangers in Quang Binh province, Vietnam. (News source.)

Albino Softshell

An albino softshell turtle was found in Lake Poyang in east China's Jiangxi province. (News source.)

Herps as Food

A review of the Sportsman’s Wild Game Cookout in Lafayette, LA, includes a recipe for alligator sauce piquant.

A Pennsylvania sportsman has been catching and eating snapping turtles for many years. (News source.)

Turtle Conservation

Researchers are trying to save the pig-nosed turtle. (News source.)

Hoekstra Hates Turtles

I guess it's good publicity, and they're a safe target; it's not like the turtles are going to march against him or anything. A Michigan congressman has started railing about $318,000 spent by MDOT to create turtle barriers along stretches with high turtle mortality. (The funds are specifically given for road enhancement and safety by the Feds, not general roadwork. There are a fair number of accidents caused by turtles crossing roads, btw.) Here's a clue: if you want to clean up Michigan and its lousy employment rate, start somewhere that's going to actually going to help solve the problem. The good congressman is just using turtles for a hand-waving demonstration (News source.)

Turtles Tip

Some researchers have been looking into how turtles are able to right themselves after being tipped. (Nature article.)

Blanding's Release

24 young Blanding's turtles were released into the Illinois wilds, at the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. (News source.)

Turtle Poaching

Two Ontario men were caught poaching snapping turtles. (News source.)

Snapper

A snapping turtle first seen in a UK pond 17 years ago has finally been captured and relocated to a turtle sanctuary. (News source.)

Guilty or Not

An Illinois man is facing charges for selling a baby red-eared slider to an undercover DNR officer two years ago. The man sold it an a reptile expo he had organized, and believed that because he was a hobbyist, the FDA regulations didn't apply. (News source.)

Now, technically, the official exception to the FDA ruling is:

"The sale, holding for sale, and distribution of live turtles and viable turtle eggs not in connection with a business." (Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Volume 8, Sec. 1240.62)

So, I suppose it now depends on the court's definition of "business."

Turkish Turtle Farm

A German zoologist runs the only turtle farm in Turkey. He exports the babies for the pet trade. (News source.)

Illinois Mud Turtles

Illinois researchers are trying to determine how many yellow mud turtles are still to be found in that state. (News source.)

Chinese Turtle Smuggling

Hong Kong police caught two men trying to smuggle 7000 hatchling turtles into China. The species named were North American, none endangered. (News source.)

Irwin's Turtle

An Australian turtle discovered by Steve Irwin and his father has conservationists worried, due to a female-biased population structure with few juveniles being found. (News source.)

Judge Halts Guilty Plea

A Federal judge has halted a guilty plea by a turtle smuggler, on the grounds that the Alabama district court may not have jurisdiction, as the man never left Louisiana. (News source.)

Turtle Smuggler

A Florida man has pled guilty to smuggling protected Alabama redbelly turtles into Mississippi. (News source.)

Zoo Farmed Turtles

Oregon Zoo is raising western pond turtles to release, bolstering diminishing native populations. (News source.)

Turtle with a Crocodile's Tail

Villagers near Pattaya, Thailand, called the local newspaper to report a strange turtle caught by a local fisherman. The turtle was unknown to them, and had the "tail of a crocodile." Turned out to be a snapping turtle (North American), probably a farm escapee. Pictures at news site.

Malaysian Smuggled Turtle Eggs

A Malaysian was caught smuggling 1,498 turtle eggs into Borneo. No species given. (News source.)

Roadkill Reptiles

Reptile roadkill isn't just accidental, unfortunately. A study recently published in the journal Human Dimensions of Wildlife shows that 2.7% of drivers intentionally go out of their way to hit snakes and turtles. (News source.)

Turtle Grabbing for Snappers

Here's an article on techniques for hunting snapping turtles...

Asian Extinctions

Asian conservationists are trying to prevent the extinction of several species, most of which end up in the food markets. (News source.)

Lake Ladora

Sightings of a large reptilian creature in Colorado's Lake Ladora (rumored to be a released caiman or alligator) turned out to be a large snapping turtle. (News source.)

Smuggling Charges

Three people from Louisiana and Florida plead not guilty to charges of smuggling rare turtles. (News source.)

CDC and Turtle-Based Salmonella

The CDC has released a report describing 22 cases of turtle-based salmonellosis in 2006 and 2007. One case involved the fatality of a three-week-old child. Interestingly, the report comes out while an attempt is being made by some legislators to lift the CDC ban on small turtle sales. (News source.)

NJ Terrapins

267 terrapins have been killed crossing roads near the seashore at Stone Harbor, NJ, since May. At least 255 have been rescued while on the road. Terrapin barrier fences appear to be helping in other areas. (News source.)

Michigan Turtles