.Turtle Collection and Consumption Continues Despite State Assurances

Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has let us down regarding the protection of fresh water turtles, box turtles, and grotesquely, even the health of the people who eat them.  Despite recent statewide media attention that suggests the Commission has actually done something to protect them, currently in Texas it remains legal to commercially harvest an unlimited number of wild turtles and tortoises from both public and private waters and lands.  The Commission never passed a final rule changing the law, when they proposed a rule stating they would in April 2007.  The proposal occurred after environmental attorneys requested the Commission to issue an emergency rule banning commercial harvest not only for the sake of our turtles, but the people who consume them.

Attorneys pointed to worldwide scientific research showing that turtles cannot sustain any level of take from the wild without leading to population crashes; and that each week nongame dealers licensed by TPWD are commercially harvesting thousands of wild turtles as a food from Texas streams that are posted with fish consumption advisories and bans for dangerous levels of aquatic cancer causing contaminants found in fish.  Because turtles live so long, they bioaccumulate and retain aquatic contaminants at levels dangerous to humans.  One published study in New York found enough PCBs in one snapping turtle to kill a large mammal. 

Other evidence showed that for the last 15 years, the TPWD Nongame Director Matt Wagner has known that wild turtles are being commercially taken from these streams and sold as food at Chinatowns in Houston, Dallas, California, New York and abroad.  In response, Chairman Fitzsimmons guided the other Commissioners to reject the evidence and wrongly state to the public that TPWD does not have jurisdiction to address public health concerns in Texas, even though in the past the department has issued emergency bans on consumption and take of red snapper fish for PCB contamination.

At the May 2007 TPWD Commissioner’s meeting, Wagner obviously joined forces with the turtle industry and advocated their position that there has never been sufficient research done on the numbers of these small turtles that exist in our woods, ponds and streams; and that if the Commission does prohibit commercial harvest they should continue to allow unlimited take of softshells, common snappers and red eared sliders from private waters. The majority of the Commission sided with Wagner and the turtle industry, that there was no research in Texas to point to in order to stop it.  This was the case even though Wagner had received data from the US Forest Service in Lufkin showing that populations in East Texas were not healthy.  The Commission responded to the outcry from the public in April of this year by calling for a total stoppage to these shipments for 30 days while the public was asked for their opinion.  Thousands of people spoke up in defense of the turtles, but the commercial dealers spoke up louder.  When the Commission decided that research should be done and further action taken, they did so in a manner that has allowed the continued collection and shipment of turtles to China.

The Commission regulations have yet to be published in the necessary legal places, so Bayou Bob and his kind are continuing to grab, sell and ship every red ear slider, soft shell and box turtle they can get their hands on.  We have been duped and tricked in the worst way.  And what can we do about it?  First of all, just be aware that nothing has been done to protect freshwater and land turtles.  Those who profit by stripping these creatures from our landscape continue to do so.  We must speak up again - to our Texas legislators, governor, Lt. Governor, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Commissioners and anyone else who will listen.  Yes, we need research to determine if these populations of turtles are diminishing are able to hold their own in spite of huge collections being made.  But the commercial dealers should be stopped until this research has been completed.  No one should profit from the exploitation of  unprotected wildlife which is happening now. 

Carole H. Allen, Gulf Office Director

Sea Turtle Restoration Project/HEART

(Help Endangered Animals-Ridley Turtles)

P. O. Box 681231

Houston, Texas 77268-1231

Phone/FAX 281-444-6204

Following is new information received from Attorney Chris Jones who was involved in HEART as a student attending Oak Creek Elementary in Houston when his family lived nearby and went on to become an environmental attorney.

“Recently the largest commercial turtle dealer in Texas, “Bayou” Bob Popplewell stated that he has virtually “turtled out” populations in central, north and east Texas and that he hopes to recruit additional people in the Houston area to add to his “army” of more than 450 trappers that have already joined his private turtle export business.  According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, from 2003-2005 Bob has exported more than 170,000 wild caught adult turtles to China as food.  The dealer frequently holds pyramid scheme seminars statewide that he has titled “Turning Turtles Into Cash.”  At a seminar held at Gander Mountain Sporting Goods in Corsicana, Bob, who is also one of the largest dealers of wild caught rattlesnakes, bragged that he makes more than 2 million dollars per year from the sale of wild caught Texas turtles and that he recently purchased a Cessna airplane with his earnings.  Earlier at his seminar in Stephenville, the dealer sported a dress shirt with a embroidered patch that states “Texas Parks and Wildlife Department” and urged attendees to join his turtle “coop” for $250 per person.  Here, he also noted that he exports 2000-8000 lbs of live adult turtles per week as food to China from DFW airport.

Interestingly as a result of this case, not only does TPWD face litigation for violating its duty to proactively protect the public trust and health, a contract biologist who also represents interests of the global wild caught turtle industry, is being prosecuted for violating laws established by the International Union of Conservation and Nature (IUCN).” 

Christopher H. Jones, M.S.

Environmental Attorney

Bullock, Fly and Hornsby,Attorneys at Law

Murfreesboro, Tenn.