'We Are Straining To Keep Our Doors Open': Turtle Rescue Of The Hamptons Needs Help, Plans Fundraiser

JAMESPORT, NY — An organization dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing endangered Long Island turtles is having its first-ever fundraiser as a dire need for funds escalates.

Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons will host its "Shell-A-Bration" at the Watershed Kitchen and Inn, located at 46 Front Street in South Jamesport, on Friday, September 5, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event includes music, a basket raffle, the chance to learn all about turtle rescue, and more. A full menu will also be available for purchase.

As part of its mission, Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons also seeks to reverse the decline in their populations through its Headstart Program.

For years, Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, a not-for-profit turtle rescue organization based in Jamesport, has been a light of hope for the many turtles left critically injured or killed on East End roads.

Karen Testa, executive director of Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, said the need is dire. "Our work is far from over," she told Patch. "We urgently need your help — with the economy in crisis and budget cuts, we are straining to keep our doors open."

June through August are the busiest months for the turtle hospital: The only such facility in New York State, the organization is "totally inundated" with calls, Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons said.

"We have been receiving injured turtles daily, and as of today, we have 350 patients in residence. Our hospital is nearly at capacity with patients, primarily egg-bearing females who were struck by cars on their way to breeding grounds. Other injuries have occurred as a result of the following: dog chews, crab trap drowning, window well entrapments, and severe ear abscesses through contact with chemical pesticides. As a result, our hospital is full and incubators crowded with eggs, which will begin to hatch in the next few months."

Currently, Turtle Rescue of the Hamtons said, the organization has been able to release 157 of its 167 hatchlings that were born last year in its Headstart Program. "The moment when the tiny year-old babies took their first hesitant steps before running joyously into the ponds and wetlands of Long Island was one of our most rewarding experiences," all involved said.

Later this year, the hope to launch a new native turtle physical therapy trauma treatment program, which will help turtle rescuers make significant inroads into treatment of all traumatically injured patients that arrive at the hospital throughout the calendar year, Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons said.

"The program will provide a treatment plan that will alleviate symptoms, minimize pain and give patients the opportunity to regain use of their limbs and function independently. The estimated recovery period per patient is two to five years, which is due to their slow healing process, as they are cold-blooded animals," representatives of the organization said.

The upcoming Shell-A-Bration benefit is sponsored by Friends of The Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, a volunteer group whose goal is to help TROTH continue to run its programs to rescue, rehabilitate and release injured turtles — and, through the Headstart Program, provide care for injured egg-bearing female turtles and their hatchlings with the goal of returning them to the wild.

Funds will be used to save the lives of injured moms and their tiny hatchlings. They will also help Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons to open the new physical therapy trauma treatment center, which will "give neurologically damaged turtles a fighting chance to regain mobility and live out their lives independently pain-free," Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons said. "Together, as a community, we can make a difference in the lives of all our turtles."