Zoo’s chief hails seizure from local smuggling ring
By Mark Sommer
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
A pair of illegally obtained yellow spotted Amazon River turtles have found a home in the Buffalo Zoo instead of maybe ending up on a dinner plate.
The year-old turtles were among numerous turtles and snakes seized last month after a 2zye 1/2 r undercover investigation by state Department of Environmental Conservation officers into the illegal trafficking of reptiles and amphibians.
“You always hear about these kinds of smuggling rings going on in other countries, so it’s hard to believe that such an operation would exist here locally,” Zoo President Donna M. Fernandes said Thursday.
While most of the species captured in Operation Shellshock were native to New York, these endangered turtles are from South America, where they are also threatened by black market trade as well as loss of habitat.
“I really applaud the DEC for unraveling the extensive network of dealers and illegal poaching that was going on in New York State, other states and internationally,” Fernandes said.
More than 2,400 turtles, snakes and salamanders were involved in smuggling transactions, leading to criminal charges against 17 men and one company.
The two turtles will be quarantined for a period of time before moving into their new home in the Buffalo Zoo’s M&T Bank Rainforest Falls exhibit. They were seized from an animal trader in Staten Island, who claimed to have imported them from a friend in Florida, according to Capt. Michael Van Durme, chief environmental conservation officer, who supervised the operation.
Fernandes predicted a better future for the two turtles.
“They are much smaller than our other specimens, but I’m sure they will make fast friends with the others in the group. It’s a wonderful building for them to live the rest of their lives,” Fernandes said.
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/628121.html
Endangered turtles find tropical home in Buffalo
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