FWC Turtle Work Stalled By Theft
Attention all my Florida friends. Be on the lookout for these turtle traps!
Albert
Sometime between noon Wednesday and early Thursday morning, someone stole four Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) research hoop nets from Lockey Lake, off the Apalachicola River in Gulf County.
Kim Sash, an FWC wildlife biologist who works on the Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area, said the 10-foot-long, barrel-shaped nets or traps were partially exposed above the waterline in the small lake across from Bryant Landing. The hoop nets are used to capture and tag alligator snapping turtles, a species of special concern.
All of the turtles are released on site.
Each of the hoop nets, identified as FWC property, costs $135.
"We hope someone will have a change of heart and return the traps as soon as possible," Sash said. "If that happens, there will be no questions asked."
Sash said she could be reached at 850-827-2417.
Otherwise, taking and keeping the traps is a felony. The Gulf County Sheriff's office is investigating the theft.
Anyone with information about the incident can call the FWC's Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-3922.
Contact:
Kim Sash (850) 827-2417
3 comments:
People make me crazy... I work in Animal Control and we have traps stolen from time to time. The last one was a 4 foot long dog trap that was chained to a tree with a heavy log chain. Trying to catch a very skittish dog that had been dumped/abandoned along a busy road.
Somebody saw the trap and cut the lock. They even stole the chain. We have to hide the traps at all times, now - and if we can't hide the trap in an are we don't set it out at all.
Unbelievable what people will steal! Dog traps, turtle traps, just nothing but a decline in the Nation's character and morals
Shoot Straight,
Gun Slinger
Well, someone did have the change of heart I was looking for and returned my traps.
Thanks for posting the story, I think we scared whoever it was into returning the traps. For once, a happy ending,
Kim Sash
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