Kansas wildlife officials say the ornate box turtle needs protections, and some lawmakers want to ban people from capturing or possessing the state’s reptile.
“House Bill 2479 would amend the miscellaneous violations section of the Kansas wildlife and parks laws, and make it unlawful for any person to capture or possess an ornate box turtle,” said Kyle Hamilton, an assistant reviser of statutes.
He told the House Agriculture Committee last week that violations would be a misdemeanor, carrying penalties of a fine up to $500 and up to a month in jail.
Under existing regulatory authority, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has already prohibited people from possessing more than five of any species of reptile. HB 2479 would override that regulation for ornate box turtles. The bill does not create any exceptions.
Secretary Brad Loveless of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks said the species needs protections. He supports the bill “and the idea that ornate box turtles need more protection over time to sustain their population in Kansas.”
“As the agency charged with promoting conservation of this species along with all of Kansas’ wildlife, we are concerned about declines for this species,” Loveless said.
The agency does not believe the current allowance of five turtles is the cause of population declines, but it would support decreasing the number to one or two.
“This would still allow for casual use and the positive education that follows but would prevent an allow accumulation of these that might be a precursor to illegal sale,” he said.
An alternate route he proposed could be to move the work to the Kansas Nongame Wildlife Action Committee, which makes recommendations about agency regulations.
Poaching threatens Kansas turtle population. Benjamin Reed, an assistant professor of biology at Washburn University, has studied the ornate box turtle since 2013. His research includes survey work, monitoring individual turtles and demographics.
Reed said that Kansas is behind other states in protecting the species, as other states have listed it as protected or endangered. He attributed much of the population decline to illegal capture and poaching.
“So why do we even care that turtles exist in our habitat?” he asked. “For a lot of people, you think of a turtle and you just think of this like useless, slow creature with a heavy shell that just wanders around. It doesn’t do much. That’s actually not the case.”
Reed said that turtles are important seed and spore dispersers, they prevent disease spread by eating carrion and they are important for pest and weed control, among other ecological roles. For ranchers, turtles are important for breaking down cow patties.
Reed said poachers will target the land used for research. A colleague in Iowa had a project that lost its entire turtle population due to poachers, who were caught after it was too late.
Dennis Dinwiddie, director of conservation and education at the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center, testified that the species population has “experienced an alarming reduction.”
“Because box turtles have unique and colorful markings, they are collected from the wild and sold overseas through the illegal pet trade,” Dinwiddie wrote. “We feel that poaching these turtles from the wild to send overseas has become the greatest threat they face. We feel it is the primary cause for their significant losses from the wild.”
Diane Glynn, a pro tem district judge for Shawnee County, has assisted on turtle surveys at Kansas zoos.
“I can attest that we have encountered very few ornate box turtles in the platted areas, despite three years of organized searches,” Glynn said.
“I want my grandchild and other children to experience the same childhood delight of
encountering ornate box turtles that we did,” she said. “I believe that ornate box turtles, as all wildlife does, serve an important role in the balance of our ecosystem. I believe that ornate box turtles should be protected as they are our official state reptile.”
Rep. Joe Seiwert, R-Pretty Prairie, raised the question of eating turtles, while Rep. Jim Minnix, R-Scott City, asked about rules against harming the turtles.
Existing regulations allowing possession prohibit people from harming the animals, Loveless said. They are a nongame species — unlike snapping turtles, which can be eaten — within a possession limit.
“They have to basically take good care of them and release them back to the wild in good shape,” Loveless said.
People don’t eat box turtles, Reed said, because they can be poisonous.
Legislators also questioned whether children holding a turtle race could be punished.
The secretary couldn’t recall any law enforcement cases involving children. Officers do have discretion, especially when they come upon an innocent mistake, he said.
Law enforcement had “a case a few years years ago, where a person was collecting these from several states and shipping them overseas,” Loveless said. They also had a case where someone had a dozen turtles in a pen.
Loveless indicated that native tribes could be included in the regulatory process, but he also noted that tribal lands have existing broad allowances for harvesting game and using nongame species for other reasons.
Retired Kansas State University biology professor Spencer Tomb, of Manhattan, said the bill is unnecessary because the agency can use its regulatory authority. He also warned of unintended consequences.
“There are problems that come with adding the words ‘prohibit capture and possession’ of the species,” Tomb said. “Dead box turtles have uses in the culture of Native Americans. The shells of dead turtles are used as bowls and to make musical instruments.”
“Wild animals should be left in the wild,” he said. “They should be protected from commercial use of live animals. This bill is not needed.”
Jason Tidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal.
