ANNAPOLIS — The eastern box turtles rescued from a St. Mary’s County property two years ago will spend the rest of their lives in captivity, and Maryland’s state herpetologist says that is nothing to celebrate.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is now using the case to argue for tighter rules on collecting, keeping, breeding and selling native reptiles and amphibians. In an Oct. 22 article, the department said current regulations still allow significant wild collection and the breeding, sale and trade of many species, and do not address collection pressure, disease transmission or illegal trade. Its Wildlife and Heritage Service is drafting changes, with details and a public comment period to be posted on DNR’s website.
What happened to the St. Mary’s turtles
In October 2024, Natural Resources Police and St. Mary’s County Animal Control removed 43 eastern box turtles and three painted turtles from a private property, where DNR says they were kept in cramped, poor conditions. Most were highly stressed, in poor body condition and very sick.
The animals went to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and Maryland Zoo veterinarians assessed and treated them. Even so, 27 of the turtles died or had to be euthanized, according to DNR. The owner was charged with 48 counts of animal cruelty, 53 counts of possession without permits and three counts of failure to obtain a permit, and the state sought about $4,100 in restitution.
The survivors cannot go back to the woods. Dr. Ellen Bronson, the Maryland Zoo’s senior director of animal health, conservation and research, said releasing them risked spreading disease to wild populations. They were placed at accredited facilities, and some will live in the box turtle habitat in the zoo’s Maryland Wilderness area.
State herpetologist Beth Schlimm said that outcome may be good for the individual animals but is not a conservation success. Turtles that live out their lives in a zoo can no longer reproduce and help sustain the wild population, she said.
Why losing a few adults matters
Turtles are among the most imperiled groups of vertebrates in the world, largely because of illegal collection and trade, DNR says. Box turtles are especially vulnerable. A female may take seven or eight years to start breeding, and few eggs and hatchlings survive predators. Adults can live 40 years or more, so a population depends on long-lived breeding females, and removing even a handful can tip it into decline. DNR says eastern box turtle numbers in Maryland have fallen over the past decade, partly because of illegal collection.
Under the current state regulation, a person needs a permit to possess more than one eastern box turtle, and only one may have been taken from the wild. The same one-animal limit applies to painted turtles and several other species. Wood turtles, spotted turtles and diamondback terrapins may not be taken from the wild at all. Permits cost $10 and run through Dec. 31 of the year issued, and the director may issue one only if it won’t harm conservation of native species.
DNR asks residents to leave wild turtles where they find them and to report suspected poaching or illegal wildlife sales to Maryland Wildlife Crime Stoppers at 443-433-4112. The department does not share locations of rare, sensitive or easily poached species. Property owners who want to help can make their land more turtle-friendly through DNR’s Wild Acres habitat program.
