ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE (Little Rock, Arkansas)

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE (Little Rock, Arkansas) 30 April 06 Turtles hauled away as 2nd farm is shut - Business permit expired, officials say (Andy Davis)
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officers raided a second alligator snapping turtle farm Thursday as they continued their investigation into a turtle dealer accused of doing business without a permit.
The first raid on the operation, owned by Doris Randleas and her former husband, Harold Randleas, took place Wednesday, when officers seized 842 of the giant turtles from a farm in the Brasfield community in eastern Prairie County.
While at the farm, officers learned about a second farm owned by the Randleases near Jacksonville, said Keith Stephens, a Game and Fish Commission spokesman.
Officers went to the site at 9507 Batesville Pike on Thursday morning, Stephens said. Several hours later, officers had hauled more than 100 turtles away from the Jacksonville site, and they planned to return today, Stephens said.
Most of the turtles weigh 35 to 50 pounds, although some weigh as much as 120 pounds, Stephens said. Officers are taking them to a Game and Fish Commission hatchery in Lonoke, he said.
“It’s extremely time-consuming to pick those things up,” Stephens said. “They’ll bite you if you get a hand in their mouth.”
Harold and Doris Randleas were arrested Wednesday morning on 19 counts of possessing, buying or selling alligator snapping turtles without a permit, one count of violating the Game and Fish Commission’s monthly reporting requirements for turtle dealers and one count of taking or possessing a wild alligator snapping turtle, Stephens said.
They were booked in at the Prairie County jail in Des Arc and released on $27,415 bond each.
The largest freshwater turtles in the world, alligator snapping turtles can grow to more than 150 pounds and have been documented to live as long as 80 years in captivity.
“They’re not domestic animals at all,” Stephens said. “It’s our job to protect them, and taking them out of the wild is against our codes.”
Stephens said the violations result from the Randleases letting their permit expire in June.
Doris Randleas, who has raised the turtles for more than 20 years, said she would have renewed the permit if the Game and Fish Commission had reminded her. She said she has continued to file monthly reports with the commission.
“Why would I let it go when it’s our business and our livelihood?” Randleas said.
Stephens said Randleas was notified 45 days before the permit expired. He admitted that may have been the only notice she received.
“Typically, if someone is in violation, we don’t warn them that we’re coming,” Stephens said. “If we have a violator, we want to catch them in the act.”
Arkansas has about 10 licensed alligator snapping turtle dealers, Stephens said.
Native to Arkansas and other Southeastern states, the turtles have declined in number in recent years because of shrinking habitat and a thriving commercial market.
In Arkansas owning an alligator snapping turtle without a permit is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. Taking one from the wild is punishable by up to $5,000.
The Randleases’ operation has been cited for violations before. In 2003, the Randleases’ son, James, was convicted in federal court of buying snapping turtles from Mississippi that had been taken from the wild. He was fined $8,000 for three violations and sentenced to a year of probation.
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