Los Angeles has become a significant exit point for a rapidly growing, illicit trade: the smuggling of turtles and tortoises out of the United States. While this black market has been expanding since the turn of the century, the last six or seven years have seen a dramatic increase, with LAX and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach serving as major hubs for these shipments, primarily bound for overseas sales in Asia.
The Turtle Conservancy, a 90-acre organization based in Ojai, is grappling with the direct fallout of this surge. Founded in 2005 by Eric Goode, who also made his fortune in nightclubs, restaurants, and hotels before producing docuseries like "Tiger King" and "Monsters of God" on reptile smuggling, the conservancy initially focused on habitat creation and research. However, its mission has largely shifted to caring for the hundreds of displaced turtles and tortoises, many of which arrive starving and stressed. Since 2017, the conservancy has taken in 810 of these animals rescued by authorities, with more than 400 of those arrivals occurring in just the last six months. Goode acknowledges the overwhelming situation, stating, "We’re at a breaking point."
The demand for these reptiles, particularly American turtles, stems from their striking beauty and the fact that some are among the rarest species globally, facing extinction. Manisa Kung, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent in charge overseeing enforcement in the Los Angeles area, points to social media as a key driver for demand, fostering "large networks of bad guys collaborating together to organize the poaching."
Despite building new facilities, including a 14,400-square-foot greenhouse and a 6,000-square-foot hoop house to temporarily house up to 500 turtles for quarantine, the conservancy is struggling to keep up. Goode emphasizes that the situation is "not sustainable," citing the immense costs of food, manpower, electricity, and water. He warns that the conservancy "cannot take in another 300 turtles" due to the inability to mix new arrivals with their existing population.
The journey for these smuggled animals is often brutal. Sara Walker, a senior advisor on trafficking for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), explains that turtles are "stuffed into bags, shoved into tiny little crates." They arrive dehydrated, malnourished, and highly susceptible to diseases. Goode confirms the grim reality that the vast majority of confiscated turtles ultimately die.
To address the growing challenge of placing seized animals, the AZA created the Wildlife Confiscations Network three years ago, which Walker now heads. This pilot program in Southern California works with law enforcement to find suitable homes for confiscated wildlife. The network has placed over 4,600 animals in more than 135 cases, partnering with institutions like the San Diego Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, Santa Ana Zoo, and the Turtle Conservancy, which Walker describes as a "go-to facility" for its specialized turtle expertise.
However, a significant hurdle in deterring smugglers is the leniency of legal penalties. Both Kung and Walker note that criminals often view arrests as "the cost of doing business" due to light sentences. For instance, when two brothers were caught smuggling 635 turtles valued at over $1 million, they received sentences of a year and a year-and-a-day, respectively, along with fines of $15,000 and $10,000. While authorities sometimes try to link smugglers to other illegal activities for harsher penalties, both Walker and Goode advocate for stiffer sentences, observing a lack of political momentum on this front.
A bipartisan bill, the Wildlife Confiscations Network Act, was introduced in the House last year to commit $5 million annually over five years from the federal government to support confiscation management. Jeremy McBride, Goode's producing partner on "Monsters of God," stresses the need for more resources, but the bill remains stuck in committees. Goode describes the proposed funding as "just a drop in the bucket."
Even when animals survive, returning them to the wild presents another set of problems. Smugglers commingle various species, leading to the spread of diseases that could devastate wild populations. Determining an animal's exact origin is also challenging, as smugglers often pass the creatures through multiple hands. UCLA ecology professor Brad Shaffer is working on this problem, recognizing that a turtle evolved for a specific climate, like the cold winters of Connecticut, would likely not survive if released in a different habitat. Despite these difficulties, the conservancy and partner zoos strive to return reptiles to the wild whenever possible.
Amidst the challenges, the Turtle Conservancy has achieved a notable success: breeding ploughshare tortoises, a species nearly driven to extinction by poaching in their native Madagascar. Goode rescued a group from Asian smugglers in 2010, and after 15 years of care, the conservancy celebrated 25 hatchlings. Goode is now collaborating with the Madagascar government to reintroduce them to their natural habitat, establishing monitored soft-release pens to ensure their survival and to develop more breeding groups globally.