The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo has helped rescue and rehabilitate more than 800 North American box turtles confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade since October 2024, the zoo announced on August 27.

Working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the zoo has become a critical first stop for turtles seized from traffickers attempting to export them illegally through New York-area airports. Most are believed to have been collected from the wild for the international pet trade.

Confiscated turtles receive emergency triage, veterinary treatment, quarantine and rehabilitation at the zoo. Many arrive severely dehydrated, emaciated, injured or diseased after rough handling and poor transport conditions.

Federal officials describe the recent surge in turtle trafficking as unprecedented. “The Bronx Zoo plays a critical role in combating the illegal wildlife trade,” said Kevin Torregrosa, the zoo’s curator of herpetology. Rehabilitated turtles are placed in accredited zoos or conservation organisations, or returned to the wild where permitted.