Group Caught Smuggling 25 Turtles Out Of Prospect Park, Activists Say

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — A group of about five people were caught trying to smuggle at least 25 turtles out of Prospect Park, according to an activist group that watches over the park's wildlife.

WILD For Prospect Park — which stands for Wildlife Interests, Learning and Development — posted a photo to its Facebook page showing turtles in plastic and paper bags on the ground. The turtles were spotted by Marty Bast and another unnamed "friend," the group said, "by the lake near Park Circle on the Parkside Avenue side ."

"The women were luring turtles out of the water and bagging them up!!!" the group wrote. "Thankfully, Marty stopped them and quickly alerted NYPD and PEP. Marty was able to keep one woman there but the others dropped the bags and ran."

Neither the NYPD nor the NYC Parks Department immediately responded to a Patch email about this incident. We'll update this post if we hear back. A spokeswoman for the Prospect Park Alliance declined to comment.

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Mary Beth Artz, a founding member of WILD, told Patch that turtles are a regular target of park poachers.

"I don’t see it every day but we have come across difference instances that when we’re out on our cleanups we see people trying to fish them out, we’ve found bait boxes which are specifically designed to catch these turtles," Artz told Patch.

Under NYC Parks rules, no one is allowed to "molest, chase, wound, trap, hunt, shoot, throw missiles at, kill or remove any animal, any nest, or the eggs of any amphibian, reptile or bird; or knowingly buy, receive, have in his or her possession, sell or give away any such animal or egg taken from or killed within any park (including any zoo area)."

Violating park rules are punishable by up to 90 days in prison and a $1,000 fine. In this case, according to WILD, the woman who was captured paid a $1,000 fine.

"In our opinion she should have been fined for every turtle pulled out of that lake," the group's Facebook post said.

WILD wants to spread the word about these offenders. Its Facebook post about the turtle had garnered 1,396 shares by Wednesday afternoon, an impressive total for a page with just over 500 likes.

"We’re trying to work with the park so we can help lessen and get the word out about these activities," Artz said. "The wildlife needs our protection, needs our respect. But we have seen people as we’re out there, I saw a homeless woman once with a plastic bag of two turtles in water. It happens. What we’re hoping for is more enforcement in the park and not just with the turtles."

Image courtesy WILD