is the FRT (fly river turtle) illegal or legal in california or in other states... any info.. please post 
Fly River Turtles... legal or illegal?
- Thread starter rkc772
- Start date
FRTs have never been illegal to import into the US. They were classified under CITES II in Jan 2005. This means that export is permitted (from countries of origin) if the proper export permits are obtained. The US has placed FRTs under the umbrella of the Lacey Act which states that the US will ensure that the proper documentation accompanies this species as it arrives into the US and its territories from, and by the laws, of the countries of origin. Australia and Papua New Guinea have banned the export of FRTs. Indonesia allows the export of "captive-hatched" turtles provided the proper export permits are obtained. Indonesia also allows for the trade of FRT hatchlings from eggs collected from wild nests and considers these hatchlings as "captive-hatched". To date, there have been no quotas placed on the number of eggs collected from wild nests. (estimates of annual collections number between 1.5 and 2 million eggs).
The only species of turtles that California specificly prohibits are all the snapping turtles. Here is the link http://www.animallaw.info/administrative/adusca14ccrs671.htm
so does that mean if i go to indonesia and bring several FRTs with legit papers i can bring them in right? thanks!
rkc772 said:so does that mean if i go to indonesia and bring several FRTs with legit papers i can bring them in right? thanks!
lol sure, try it.
M|L said:lol sure, try it.
was that a yes or no?
just wondering... rather than getting caught, i think i better contact the proper authorities with regards to this. don't wanna get jailed just because of turtles. 
rkc772 said:so does that mean if i go to indonesia and bring several FRTs with legit papers i can bring them in right? thanks!
Again, there are no problems to import into the US (other than customs declarations, import licence, and quarantine certificates). All permits are the responsibility of the EXPORTING country the animals originate from. So, provided you have the proper export permits from Indonesia, you can bring them into the US legally.
Several member sat down and figured out how many hatchlings would be available from Indonesia on an annual basis. The numbers are impressive.
Of the 2 million wild-collected eggs each year (from Indonesia alone), if half are used to restock wild populations (which, sadly, they're not), that would leave 1 million eggs going to various markets. If 90% of those eggs are consumed as food, that leaves 100,000 eggs/hatchlings available for world markets. Split this number to the separate continents and you arrive at 14,285 hatchlings available for export to the US. The number increases when consideration is given to the fact that China has recently banned all trade in FRTs. And, Australia has banned all trade in non-australian FRTs.
Given the population of the US, 14,000 of anything doesn't sound like alot. If they were Levi's buttonfly jeans, the number is insignificant. However, 14,000 is a huge number when taking the number of aquatic turtle species hobbyists into account. And that number portrays an annual availability of this one species.