MINNEAPOLIS — Trapping turtles for profit will soon be a thing of the past in Minnesota.
Starting next January, commercial harvesting of the state's wild turtles will no longer be legal. It's a move to save the turtle population, which is considered key to preserving the ecosystems where they live.
"Commercial harvesters take tens of thousands of turtles every year and so it’s not sustainable for our turtle population," said Rep. Samantha Vang, the Brooklyn Center Democrat who authored the House version of the bill banning commercial turtle trapping.
"It's part of the conservation effort, to see the importance of biodiversity, to save our climate, our natural habitat for the next generation of Minnesotans."
Minnesota is one of 14 states that still allowed commercial trapping of turtles and one of only six that set no limits on the amount that could be removed from their natural habitats. Western painted turtles and snapping turtles have been in high demand for use in traditional medicine, food, and for dissection in biology classrooms.
"Commercial harvesters haven't had a limit on how much they can take, they can take as many as they want. We only limit the number of licenses."
In 2002, the state placed a moratorium on new trapping licenses but the existing trappers at the time were allowed to keep their licenses and pass them down to family members. The total take is considerably smaller than it was before 2002 but still exceeds ten thousand turtles per year.
"The science shows that even a small number of turtle traffickers can quickly devastate turtle populations. This ban is a big victory for all of us who care about the health of our state’s wildlife and waterways," Collette Adkins, a biologist and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told KARE.
Christopher Smith, who leads the conservation committee for the Minnesota Herpetological Society, hailed it as a major victory.
"Minnesota’s ban on the commercial harvest of wild-caught turtles has been a long time coming and has been a group effort spanning over two decades," Smith said.
"It's time to shell-e-brate!"
Most turtle eggs and hatchlings fall victim to natural predators or human intervention, according to Scott Ramsay, a naturalist at the Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield.
"They cross roads and yards, and there are dogs and animals that can attack them. They've also got wild predators like raccoons, foxes and coyotes," Ramsay explained.
"A lot of the small immature turtles never make it to adulthood, so when you’re taking out a large amount of the adults, you’re really setting back that turtle population."
Ramsay said those who want turtles for commercial products should rely on captive breeding programs instead of plucking animals from the wild. He said removing turtles from their habitat can throw the local ecosystem out of balance.
"They are critical to the ecosystem because they’re in the middle of the food chain. They eat pond bugs and small minnows, and then they provide food for larger animals."
Vang's legislation carves out exceptions, allowing people under the age of 16 to keep up to three painted turtles or snapping turtles without getting a recreational turtle license. People under the age of 18 will also be allowed to capture up to 25 turtles for a charitable race without getting a license.
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