RE: NANFA-- OT: Turtle shootings

Schlueter, Scott L LRB (Scott.L.Schlueter_at_LRB01.usace.army.mil)
Wed, 3 Mar 2004 10:46:14 -0800

Hi all. I saw the turtle shooting video probably three weeks ago and was
sickened. The following message was posted to the HerpDigest Listserv that
Allen Salzberg maintains(ie-publisher/editor). The websites below will not
work because the posting time has expired but there is more info, including
the name and email of the local enforcement officer. If anyone has any
comments on this please respond to me off-list.
Scott
turtle in slow motion 2-3 times being shot, turtle shell pieces and blood
flying) and then posted on a hunting/rifle website's forum. This past
weekend the website took down the videos and temporarily kicked him off the
forum this past weekend.
But you can still see them.
The bird video at
http://www.herpnet.net/17HMR_vs_blackbird.wmv
And the turtle video at
http://www.herpnet.net/17hmrvsturtle.wmv
At times they are pretty gruesome. The turtles being shot seem to be adult
females, the most important turtles for the continued success of any turtle
population. Also by the lethargic reaction to the shooting by the other
turtles, it looks as though they just came out of hibernation and so the
incident probably occurred recently.

The shooting was done in Louisiana. And the people in charge of enforcement
have been notified, and given the shooters name, address and phone number.
(Looks like he just posted them on the forum).
The officer in charge is
Captain Peter Oliver, commander of Region III's e-mail
address is: oliver_pj_at_wlf.state.la.us
Snail mail address is
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
1995 Shreveport Hwy.
Pineville, LA 71360
(318) 487-5634
(318) 487-5636 FAX
The officer is in charge of enforcing the Natchitoches area.

If interested -- see them now -- since the person who copied and posted
these videos can not keep them on the server for too long. Its costing him
money. But still he's taking the time to do this and still he is also
offering to burn the video into a CD or DVD if someone really needs this for
legal or educational reasons. Send requests to me. I'll forward them.

-----Original Message-----
From: Harry Knaub
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 8:03 PM
To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
Subject: Re: NANFA-- OT: Turtle shootings

That is disturbing to watch. I'm not sure what to say
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hoover, Jan J ERDC-EL-MS" <Jan.J.Hoover_at_erdc.usace.army.mil>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 6:43 PM
Subject: RE: NANFA-- OT: Turtle shootings

> I hesitated to post this because I did not want to be responsible for
> sparking an endless (and possibly polarizing) thread having nothing to do
> with native fishes -- but given the on-line discussion this is
generating,
> it is probably just a matter of time before someone refers to it. And it
> is relevant to conservation of aquatic organisms.
>
> The International Fauna Society (http://www.faunasociety.org/index.html),
a
> non-profit group that promotes imperiled and misunderstood organisms
> (especially arthropods and herps) has posted a "sportsman" video of
turtles
> being shot. You can see it here:
>
> http://www.faunasociety.org/mediaDownload.html
>
> It has generated outrage among conservationists and at least one legal
> investigation.
>
> The video is worth watching. It shows how important it is for
> taxon-centered groups of "enthusiasts" (like IFS and NANFA) to promote
> education and conservation of the animals we care about. Turtles are not
> the only targets of such activities. So are aquatic snakes and some of
our
> larger (and imperiled) native fishes.

--
> /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
> / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
> / Association"
> / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
Association
> / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
> / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
> / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
> / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
> / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page,
http://www.nanfa.org

--
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org