Help Protect Snapping Turtles from Trapping, Spearing and Clubbing

Originally Posted: June 20, 2013

Help Protect Snapping Turtles from Trapping, Spearing and Clubbing

[Ed. Note: For more about turtles and tortoises, visit American Tortoise Rescue]

FROM In Defense of Animals (IDA)

ACTION

A bill is currently on the fast-track through New York’s legislation: A2490a has been amended to protect snapping turtles from spearing and clubbing, but it continues to allow the lethal trapping of the reptiles.

Please send a message to the Governor, the Assembly Speaker, the sponsor of the bill, and your own New York state level Assembly member today to let them know that you oppose allowing the trapping of snapping turtles.

Sign an online petition (copy/paste URL into your browser):
https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2479

And/or better yet, make direct contact:

Governor Cuomo - (518) 474-8390
Assembly Speaker Silver - (518) 455-3791
Assemblyman Magee - (518) 455-4807

Find and contact your New York Assemblymember here - http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/

INFORMATION / TALKING POINTS

Trapping of any animal is brutal, inhuman and unnecessary, and can simply not be justified. Trapping of snapping turtles will only increase the number of turtles and other animals to suffer and be killed in traps.

Snapping turtles can live up to 60 years. Females have been found to travel 10 miles to get to their traditional nesting area. As a result of a vote by New York school children, the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) was adopted as the state reptile of New York in 2006.

Sadly, they are already being persecuted as a result of existing law that permits killing them by gun and longbow. Trapping would increase poaching and the illegal transport of turtle eggs and meat to feed into the dark horrors of the illegal underground wildlife trade. It has been estimated that 150,000 live snapping turtles were exported from the United States to other markets in 1998 alone.

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Thank you for everything you do for animals!

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