Media & Resources on the Illegal Turtle Trade

The following products are select media and resources recommended for use by the news media and other organizations for coverage related to the illegal trade in turtles. This resource page has been developed by the Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles (CCITT). For media inquiries relating to trafficking of North American turtles, please contact:

CCITT Leadership Board (ccitt.leadership.board@gmail.com) and PARC Coordinators (parc_coordinators@parcplace.org)

*Smuggled Mexican Box Turtles Duct-taped and Stuffed into Socks by USFWS*

CCITT & Partner Products

CCITT Annual Reports

2023 Annual Report

Select Research Articles

The Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles: Addressing Illegal Wildlife Trade with an Adaptive Socio-Ecological Approach, Chelonian Conservation and Biology, January 2025
Anatomy of a Turtle Confiscation: What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting and Recommendations for Improving Outcomes, Chelonian Conservation and Biology, October 2024
Analysis of 20 years of turtle exports from the US reveals mixed effects of CITES and a need for better monitoring, Conservation Science & Practice, March 2024
A review and analysis of the linked decisions in the confiscation of illegally traded turtles, UMass Amherst MS. Thesis, November 2023
Media portrayal of the illegal trade in wildlife: The case of turtles in the US and implications for conservation, British Ecological Society, January 2023
Online sale of small turtles circumvents public health regulations in the United States, PLoS ONE, December 2022
Where have all the turtles gone, and why does it matter?, BioScience, October 2018
Priorities for the trade of less charismatic freshwater turtle and tortoise species, Journal of Applied Ecology, December 2016

Recent Press

The Great Cajun Turtle Heist. Texas Monthly, December 2023. Alligator snapping turtle populations in Texas were dwindling. One family of smugglers had been poaching them from the state for years.
Wildlife Traffickers Reveal Tricks of Their Illegal Trade. Sierra, December 2023. Restorative justice for traffickers of rare and endangered turtles
Virginia furthers efforts to combat illegal turtle trade. WTOP, October 2023. Virginia is furthering efforts to combat the illegal reptile and amphibian trade in the commonwealth through a resolution recently passed by the Board of Wildlife Resources.
A man trafficked turtles on Facebook. It’s a ‘huge problem,’ experts say. The Washington Post, April 2023 – A Virginia man illegally collected and sold eastern box turtles on Facebook Marketplace
Troubled Times for Turtles, Rappahannock News, March 2023 – Habitat loss and poaching threaten Virginia’s turtle species
Turtles in Trouble: Trafficking Poses Conservation Concerns for America’s Turtles, The Wildlife Professional, November/December 2022
Development and Poaching Erasing Years of Work to Protect Wood Turtles in Virginia, Virginia Mercury, May 2022 – Human development and poaching are erasing years of conservation work to protect wood turtles in Virginia
Shell Game, Virginia Wildlife magazine, May/June 2021 – The illegal trade in freshwater turtles and tortoises is a bigger problem than many realize
To Catch a Turtle Thief: Blowing the Lid Off an International Smuggling Operation, The Walrus, December 2021 – Story uncovering an illegal smuggling operation of diamondback terrapins in the United States and Canada
Smuggling Act, Medium, October 2021 – A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent joined an international turtle-trafficking ring in order to take it down
Loving Turtles to Death, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, May 2020 – Why one of most beloved types of wildlife is at grave risk from illegal collection, and what you can do to help
Turtle, Interrupted, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, August 2019 – An investigation revealed a Pennsylvania man had been illegally collecting and selling diamondback terrapins from New Jersey for years

Multimedia

Photos of turtles are available for reporters to use for stories on the illegal trade in turtles. To request access to files and credit information, contact CCITT Leadership Board, or use the shareable content found on the Wild Turtle Week page.

If using content on social media, please tag the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation: @PARCconserve (Instagram) or @PARCherps (Facebook)

Suggested Hashtags:
#everyturtlecounts, #keepwildturtleswild, #turtleconservation #savetheturtles

US Fish and Wildlife Service and Jeff Corwin team up to keep turtles safe from illegal trade

Infographics and Brochures

Print out these infographics to distribute or post:

Six Steps to Save Turtles (PDF)
Tip of the Iceberg: Illegal Turtle Trade Cases Graphic from July 2022 (PNG)
Backyard guide to helping amphibians and reptiles – Ways to help turtles at home
#WildTurtleWeek Social Media Graphics for Free Use

Comparison of reproductive output between white-tailed deer, black bear, and common snapping turtle. The snapping turtle becomes reproductively mature at 17 years of age, by which time a black bear may have produced seven and a white-tailed deer 629 reproductively mature offspring (not including mortality). Data source: Modified from Ron Brooks, Ontario Multi-Species of Turtles At Risk Recovery Team, as included in CoP16 Prop.38 pg20 — *North American freshwater turtles, black bear, and white-tailed deer reproduction race; Melissa Gonzalez, USFWS*

Additional Information

Remember, #EveryTurtleCounts

Report suspicious activity

If you suspect someone is illegally collecting or selling wild turtles, call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s tip line at 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-397-8477) or fill out their online Wildlife Crime Tips form, or consult this webpage to find your state wildlife agency’s law enforcement phone number. The US. Fish and Wildlife Service is authorized to pay rewards for information or assistance that leads to an arrest, a criminal conviction, civil penalty assessment, or forfeiture of seized property. Learn more about what to look for.