Posted by:
pondturtlenut
at Thu Jul 17 14:57:36 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by pondturtlenut ]
(part 1.) read this carefully wondabread.i read your last two postings on bog turtles."I" am the one ambull was talking about.i remember his phone call.in the late 60's and early 70's i bought in a pet store about a dozen bog turtles(it was legal at the time).the turtles were caught in two western jersey sites i was told.i created with my bare hands a 1/4 acre bog fed by a well in my backyard.by 1981 i had 50 adults,and was hatching over 50 hatchlings a year.for the next 9 years i released all the young in suitable habitat.then in 1991 the N.J. department of environmental persecution stopped by and searched my property.they told me if i told them how many turtles i had and showed them everything they would issue me a permit.they said their expert from turtleback zoo had told them nobody and no zoo have anything like this.then they said i had to pay a small fine for possession with out a permit.then they would issue it.(this was a trap,they knew i had been keeping bog turtles since 68,and should be grandfathered.by paying a fine"in the courts eyes"is a admission of guilt and negates everything else).after i paid the fine they returned with ray farrell and seized the bog,wood,and spotted turtles.then they called me and asked me to come down and discuss why i should get my turtles back.jim warner from wilton ct. reassured it was the right thing to do and he would go with me.well i went with him,i even wore a suit and tie.are talk lasted about 10 minutes.then they brought me in a room and interogated me with two armed c.o. officers standing by.they kept asking the same questions over and over.who do you know has bog turtles?what would you do for us?why should we give the turtles back?would i like to take a trip to florida?(im assuming they wanted me to do undercover work.)well they rushed the turtles back to me in fear i would sue them.then in 1995 they returned with a search warrant,by stating to a judge i never followed through on obtaining a permit.the fact is N.J. wont issue a permit for an endangered species to a private individual with out backing from a accredated institution(good luck with that period).well i took them to court and lost(you can't fight city hall).but let me tell you that was the best 20,000 i ever spent.first,i loved those turtles and miss them to this day.second,i kept my dignity and didn't become some informent owned by them.third,i learned you can't trust your government or should i say the "people who run it." GOD BLESS and enjoy life. D.N.A. p.s. i will try to do part 2 today.
[ Hide Replies ]
|
RE: Just read you're previous post on bogs/spotteds. - pondturtlenut, Thu Jul 17 14:57:36 2003