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DAILY NEWS TRANSCRIPT (Needham, Massachusetts) 16 January 05 Rare turtles seized from Milford man (Eunice Kim)
Milford: Massachusetts Environmental Police Friday seized two rare turtles from the home of a Milford man who was illegally possessing them, police said.
The spotted turtles, which police described as "endangered," were found at about 11:58 p.m. at 21 Beaver St., the home of Anthony Delsignore, according to Detective Dustin Testa.
The turtles were turned over to Michael Ralbovsky of the Rain Forest Reptile Shows for safe keeping.
The case is under investigation. The environmental police are expected to file charges against Delsignore for illegal possession of the turtles, police said.
Spotted turtles, which have bright yellow dots on their black upper shells, were once considered one of the most common turtles in the state but are now a species of "special concern," according to MassWildlife's Web site. A species of "special concern" is a native species that has been documented to have suffered a decline that could threaten the species if allowed to continue unchecked, or is a species that could easily become threatened in the state due to various factors, according to the site.
State environmental police, state police, Milford police, Ralbovsky and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search warrant at Delsignore's home Friday, intending to seize a monitor lizard believed to be illegally kept there, according to Testa. A witness had provided information about the lizard, and that information was corroborated.
Delsignore admitted he once had a monitor lizard but said it had since died, according to Testa.
To possess a monitor lizard, a permit is required, according to MassWildlife's Web site.
Rare turtles seized from Milford man

>>The spotted turtles, which police described as "endangered,"

>>Spotted turtles, which have bright yellow dots on their black upper shells, were once considered one of the most common turtles in the state but are now a species of "special concern,"

Here's my problem with this. "Endangered" is not the same as "Species of Special Concern" (SSC). I understand that the police don't know what they're talking about, as wildlife enforcement is not their primary function.

However, do MA laws forbid the keeping of SSC? Other states don't. Basically, it seems SSC status just means the state biologists are going to watch those species a little more closely. IF they upgrade to threatened/endangered, then they can't be caught/possessed.

That's my understanding of the situation; maybe MA is a little more strict.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

I don't know about MA, but in Maryland eastern box turtles are listed as a species of special concern, and a permit is required if a person possesses more than one. Only one of those can be wild caught (i.e. no proof of how hit was acquired).

As for spotted turtles in MD, one must have proof that any spotted in possession was acquired from out-of-state, or before the regulations went into affect in 1993. More than one spotted requires a permit.

Katrina