Shell game: U.S. traffickers cater to Asia's taste for turtles

STONE HARBOR, N.J. (Reuters) - A trial begins next week for a man charged with trafficking thousands of protected turtles captured in New Jersey, an unlikely hotbed of wildlife poaching that has helped supply China with a culinary delicacy that is hard to find in Asia.

David Sommers, 64, of Levittown, Pennsylvania is accused of plucking some 3,500 diamondback terrapins and their eggs from the coastal marshes of southern New Jersey and selling them in violation of the Lacey Act, a federal statute that prohibits the trafficking of wildlife captured or killed in jurisdictions where it is illegal.

Asia, where native populations of turtles have been depleted, is fueling a surge in turtle poaching across the United States, wildlife advocates say.

“Rare species are being stolen from our own backyard for the illegal trade,” said Rachel Kramer, manager at the Washington-based World Wildlife Foundation and Traffic, a non-profit that monitors global wildlife trade.

Capturing or killing many of the species in highest demand is illegal in states where they range.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-wildlife/shell-game-u-s-traffickers-cater-to-asias-taste-for-turtles-idUSKCN1LJ0XS?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews