Greater Turtle Protections Sought After Hillsborough Slayings

By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepth NH

If Charles Puccio had waited a few weeks before he started the rampage on his neighborhood turtles, killing dozens of the creatures, he may never have faced criminal charges.

And if Puccio had waited, Oka, the Eastern Painted turtle he stomped nearly to death, may never have been saved.

That’s why New Hampshire Turtle Rescue President Drew Stevens is pushing for greater legal protection for all of the state’s native turtle species.

“If he knew the law better and wanted to still kill turtles he would just have had to wait about a month,” Stevens said.

Puccio, 78, of Hillsborough, pleaded guilty last month to one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty, and one violation-level offense taking an indigenous species during a closed season, and one violation-level offense of unlawful method of taking a reptile. For running over and stomping turtles to death, Puccio received a $620 fine.

“We definitely never experienced or heard anything like that before,” Stevens said. “For somebody to do what he did was really shocking.”

But the most shocking part to Puccio’s crimes may be the fact that killing turtles is mostly legal. The criminal charges stem from the fact Puccio’s crimes erupted during the May 15 to June 15 nesting season, when all native New Hampshire turtles are legally protected.

Oka was nesting when Puccio crushed her in one of his attacks on turtles. Stevens and the other New Hampshire Rescue volunteers tried to save her one remaining egg, but it failed to hatch. Oka’s shell is mending, and she should be strong enough for release to the wild next year.

Outside of the protected nesting season, New Hampshire allows people to do as they please to a lot of turtles, within some limits. New Hampshire protects Spotted Turtles, Blanding’s Turtles, Wood Turtles, and Eastern box turtles year round. That leaves Eastern Painted Turtles, Musk Turtles, and Snapping Turtles vulnerable outside of the brief nesting season. People are allowed to take or kill two non-protected turtles per day from the wild, and Stevens notes there are no rules on how to permissibly kill a turtle.

Stevens wants the Fish and Game Commission to change the rules and protect all native New Hampshire turtles. While species like the Eastern Painted Turtle are seemingly abundant, Stevens said that could change quickly. The state does not track non-protected species populations, so the numbers are really not known. Add the fact turtles take years before reaching reproductive age, and any dent in the population could have serious negative consequences.

“It doesn’t take much to have long term effects that may not be noticed for a decade or more,” Stevens said.

Though turtles are generally not hunted for sport or food in New Hampshire, there are some who take snapping turtles for meat, Stevens said. The biggest danger to turtles are well-meaning people who find and keep hatchlings, assuming the baby turtles can easily be kept as pets, he said. This is not the case.

“People keep them in an aquarium and think they are rescuing them,” he said.

But hatchlings can suffer deformity and long-term health problems if they do not get the correct lighting and food when they are young, he said. The rescue gets a handful of calls a week from people with Snapping turtles or Eastern Painted turtles kept as pets they no longer can care for, he said. Unfortunately, the New Hampshire Turtle Rescue does not take in these former pets.

Puccio could not be reached for comment, and there are no clear answers as to why he started killing turtles.

Stevens’ organization started getting reports in June that someone in the Bog Road neighborhood in Hillsborough was ripping down “Look out for Turtles” signs, which went up during the nesting season. These signs were being replaced with threatening, hand made notices.

But soon the odd sign dispute turned ugly as people reported seeing dozens of turtles in the area after they had been run over. Soon, people say they witnessed Puccio use his UTV to repeatedly run over turtles as the creatures were crossing the road to get to their nests. On June 12, Bog Road residents saw Puccio pick Oka up, put her on the ground, and stomp on her, according to Stevens. Volunteers rushed the turtle to the rescue where she was eventually saved.

Puccio was arrested in June when a Conservation Officer used a turtle decoy for a stakeout. The officer reportedly witnessed Puccio stomping on the decoy.

Stevens is frustrated with how the case was finally resolved. He said Puccio should have been charged with a felony for animal cruelty, but the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office failed to bring that charge. New Hampshire Conservation Officers cannot bring felonies on their own without a local prosecutor. Representatives for the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office did not respond to InDepthNH.org.

This story was originally published by InDepth NH.