Reptile & Amphibian Forums

MANSFIELD NEWS JOURNAL (Ohio) 17 September 04 Pet turtles need tags, ODNR says (Joel Moroney)
Mansfield: Just call it turtlegate.
Mark Hersman, 608 Logan Road, had a visit from Ohio Department of Natural Resources officers Wednesday afternoon.
A former ODNR wildlife officer, Hersman built Wildlife Gardens in his back yard. He began building his turtle gardens in 1989 and has about 66 turtles.
Terry Sunderhaus, ODNR district law-enforcement supervisor, said investigators visited Hersman and determined many of the turtles were not tagged with a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag.
The PIT tags are available from ODNR and come in a sealed syringe-type device that implants them in the animal. They allow wildlife officers to distinguish legally obtained turtles from an ill-gotten one.
"You are able to scan a PIT-tagged animal on a scanner," Sunderhaus said. "We know it's a legal turtle versus one taken from the wildlife or unlawfully possessed.
"We had prior information this individual had these turtles and they were not PIT tagged."
Terry Wilkins, 50, of Pikerington was charged with failure to PIT tag his turtles in August 2003. Hersman testified on his behalf in that trial, and Wilkins believes the raid on Hersman was in retaliation.
Wilkins, who owns a chain of captive-born reptile stores, said his collection of reptiles is larger than those of the Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo zoos combined. He said Hersman took turtles to a veterinarian to have the tags installed and videotaped it with the intention of making a training video.
"But Hersman testified the veterinarian had a horrendous time PIT tagging the turtle," said Wilkins, arguing it is a cruel and unnecessary regulation. "Basically, law-abiding citizens are being treated like criminals."
Wilkins said a ruling several weeks ago resulted in a judge's decision that ODNR could enforce the regulations, which he believes led to the raid on Hersman.
Wilkins was convicted of three counts of failure to PIT tag and received probation, a 180-day suspended jail sentence and a $1,500 fine. He must allow ODNR to inspect his facilities at any time.
Sunderhaus said Hersman's box turtles were acquired before current wildlife laws, but must be tagged. Additional turtles cannot be taken from the wild, he said.
Sunderhaus said Hersman could face misdemeanor charges.
"We did not confiscate any turtles," Sunderhaus said. "Each turtle we were able to locate was photographed and released back to the facility."
Hersman thinks the tagging is inhumane.
"It impairs them," he said.
Pet turtles need tags, ODNR says

Next time the idiot carnival gives turtles as game prizes, will ODNR stop it? I am referring to Garfield Heights as well as any other cases?

Cindy

Earlier this year, I attended a talk by Mark Hersman. Here's a few excerpts from his talk.

"Although ODNR was attempting to curtail the trade of reptiles, Mark indicated he has never been contacted by illegal marketers and thus suggests such a market may be over-stated and asks that the State of Ohio admit they made a mistake and then work towards resolution. It is ironic that Mark was arrested despite his work as an educator but very few if any illegal traders in box turtles have been arrested"

"Mark has asked for DNR to show evidence that pit tagging is safe but they can’t and thus, Mark is unable to support the law. Typically, 26-28 gauge needles are used on people. The largest needles used on people is an 18 for blood transfusions but a 12 gauge used on turtles for pit-tagging. 12 gauge needles are commonly used on large animals such as horses, bulls, and steers. A 12 gauge is as large as the leg bone in a turtle."

"Mr. Hersman mentioned his nephew is a vet who indicated that a 12 gauge needle is far too large for small animals. Mark asked where is evidence from the ODNR for safe usage of 12 gauge needles on turtles? Also, veterinarians at OSU vet medical school said such needles were too large. "

It's a sad state of affairs that Ohio wildlife regulators are so clueless. Ever see one try to identify a reptile? However, Hersman (who used to be a wildlife officer) said that it's easier for Wildlife agencies to simply ban ownership of herps than it is for them to regulate them.