Black market reptile trade, turtle smugglers targeted as SC law kicks in
Aware of South Carolina’s lax reptile trading laws, unsavory wildlife traders have for years collected and stockpiled native turtles in the Palmetto State so they can sell the animals on the worldwide black market.
It’s a shadowy, sometimes cruel business that has generated thousands of dollars for backroom wildlife traders -- and taken a toll on native species. Turtle populations have dwindled in some places, threatening to upset the balance of nature in woodlands, rivers and swamps.
Now, the state has adopted new rules intended to protect iconic species, like the box turtle, while changing the state’s reputation as a refuge for reptile smugglers.
The rules for the first time make it illegal to possess more than a few native turtles in South Carolina. In the past, the state had no limit on the number of turtles people could own.
State Rep. Davey Hiott, who chairs the House agriculture and natural resources committee, said he supported closing loopholes in state law after hearing how South Carolina’s limited wildlife protections were attracting shady reptile dealers to the state.
“This keeps that kind of person out of the state because they don’t have a reason to come here anymore,’’ Hiott, R-Pickens, said. “I’ve had a good many people say, ‘I didn’t realize South Carolina had a problem like that.’
Some dealers would not only stockpile turtles captured in South Carolina, but they would bring in turtles from other southeastern states with tighter laws, keep them here, then resell the reptiles to traders overseas, state officials say. It was a process state wildlife officials called “turtle laundering.’’
“We were seeing dramatic declines across multiple states and in multiple populations,’’ said Will Dillman, assistant wildlife chief at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. “In the late 1990s and early 2000s, we saw this huge market for turtles more broadly develop.’’
The state had taken limited steps to protect a handful of rare turtle species years ago, but the protections did not apply to most types of turtles in South Carolina. As a result, many native turtles have been sold in Asia, for as much as $1,000 apiece, DNR officials say. Some Chinese traders seek the reptiles for resale as pets and as food because some turtle populations have dwindled there.
In recent years, federal authorities have made major wildlife cases against reptile smugglers with help from state enforcement agents. Last year, federal authorities caught a suspected wildlife smuggler hiding in a storage shed in Chester County, where some 200 turtles were being kept.
But the state’s ability to prosecute cases without federal help was limited, meaning already busy U.S. Attorneys had to make time for wildlife cases.
Dillman said the new and tougher state law will provide protections for reptiles, as well as amphibians.
Approved by the Legislature with little opposition, the law limits the number of turtles people can possess to no more than 10 total, and no more than five for an individual species. Limits now apply to more than a dozen turtles, including the box turtle, the river cooter and the common musk turtle, according to the DNR.
People who already own more than the limit can get special permission to keep the animals until the turtles die, but they also have to register and, in some instances, provide an annual report to the DNR saying how the turtles are doing. The idea is to keep people who are grandfathered from the rules from dealing their turtles, then acquiring more.
The penalty for violating the new turtle rules carries a fine of $1,000 and/or 30 days in prison per violation, according to the DNR.
The Legislature’s action to address the black market reptile trade follows a 2018 series in The State that chronicled how the illegal wildlife trade operated in South Carolina.
The State’s stories found examples of how black market reptile traders were keeping turtles in remote spots for later resale, as well as how one international dealer brought more than 200 highly venomous snakes to South Carolina for resale at a wildlife show.
In one case, a Chesterfield County man ran an extensive international operation from a trailer deep in the woods. In another, an Orangeburg County man made $100,000 one year by buying South Carolina turtles and reselling them for higher prices with Chinese wildlife dealers.
The new regulations don’t address all concerns about the wildlife trade in South Carolina. While the rules ban releasing non-native wildlife in South Carolina, they are silent on the sale of non-native venomous snakes at reptile shows.
Even so, state officials say the rules are an improvement.
Dillman said turtles needed better protection to stop population declines. The most sought-after turtles are long-lived animals that are prolific breeders. If they are lost in the wild, fewer turtles are available to reproduce.
“Species that have these high monetary values can be wiped out pretty quickly,’’ Dillman said. “When you remove adult turtles, you mine the resource and don’t have individuals to come behind and replace them.’’
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 8:54 AM.
