Two turtle vendors are arrested

Two turtle vendors are arrested
Separate cases involve 96 young turtles that were for sale on the street as pets

By Sarah Fisher | Baltimore Sun reporter
June 11, 2009


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Two turtle vendors are arrested
Separate cases involve 96 young turtles that were for sale on the street as pets

By Sarah Fisher | Baltimore Sun reporter
June 11, 2009

Red-eared slider turtles can grow to be a foot long. (Baltimore Sun photo by Christopher T. Assaf / June 10, 2009)

Baltimore police have seized 96 young turtles from street vendors who illegally sold the animals.

Two men were arrested on separate occasions, one May 30 in the 100 block of N. Eutaw St. and the other Monday in the 1700 block of Pennsylvania Ave. They are being charged with attempting to sell an exotic animal and vending without a permit, offenses that carry fines of up to $1,750 and prison time of up to a year.

"It's been an ongoing problem [in Maryland] for the past two years or so," Maryland Natural Resources Officer K. Michael Lathroum said. "The majority of the hatchlings are coming from turtle farms in Louisiana and Florida."

According to Lathroum, street vendors are able to purchase the turtles wholesale for about 50 cents apiece and usually end up selling them for $10 to $15 each. The turtles are about 1 1/2 inches long, making it easy for vendors to have a large number of them at one time.

Although it is illegal in Maryland to possess a turtle whose shell is less than 4 inches wide, there continues to be a thriving market for the small, red-eared sliders such as the ones the police seized. The people who buy the turtles may not realize that they can spread salmonella to children and can grow to be up to a foot long.

"The cuteness attraction isn't there with the big turtles like it is with these little guys," Lathroum said. Once the turtles reach their full size and people get tired of taking care of them, they are often released into Maryland waters as an invasive species.

The seized turtles are in the care of the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter and will be handed over to the Mid-Atlantic Turtle and Tortoise Society.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/loc...,2496495.story