MD turtle laws

[azmarston]

azmarston

April 10, 2002 at 10:49 am #17005

I received a very nice response to my inquiry to the Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources… (and it was quick, as well!) It looks like MD really does not approve of pet turtles, unfortunately, although you can have three DBT’s… …..I asked: “Hi, I am wondering about the laws,if any, that Maryland has regarding keeping Diamondback Turtles. Is this species permitted to be kept by the general public as a pet? (This is assuming the animals are captive bred/born, NOT wild caught.) Is it permitted to breed them? (Again, assuming that the breeding stock has been captive bred/born itself…) If this species is not legal for the general public, is it possible to obtain a license to keep/breed them?” …..They said: “You may keep no more than three diamondback terrapins as pets. As always we discourage taking anything from the wild. On occasion I have terrapins which cannot be released and would consider placing them with qualified keepers. Thank you for your careful consideration of our terrapin conservation laws.” …..I asked: “Just to clarify things for myself…if I have a pair of captive bred ones, is there any way I would be able to breed them? Or, since this would (hopefully) produce more than 3 turtles…is this not allowed in any way in the state of MD? Can you obtain a license to breed them? (As a pet owner, or as a breeder?)” ……They said: “A bill passed in the Maryland Legislature. Pending the Governor’s approval and effective date of October 2003, this bill would allow for the breeding of turtles and possession of turtles less than 4 inches if the breeding program is for conservation and educational purposes and if the program is operated by legitimate interests who have obtained the proper permits from the State. The supporters of this bill were emphatic that this legislation will not be used to facilitate a pet trade or breeding for the commercial pet industry. As it stands now the state does not support any captive breeding of turtles for the pet trade. Please let me know if I can provide additional information. Marguerite Whilden mwhilden@… http://www.dnr.state.md.us/terrapin Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service Conservation and Stewardship Program Tawes State Office Building, 580 Taylor Avenue Annapolis, Maryland 21401 Telephone 410 260-8269 FAX 410 260-8278 ….” (Abby here again…) Hopefully that will help any of the MD residents on this list! I am sure that if you have any further questions, the woman listed above (Marguerite) would be glad to speak with you. -Abby 🙂

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