JERSEY CITY – Patrick Elfers, 48, of Jersey City was sentenced on Oct. 20 to five years of probation for conspiring to traffic turtle species designated as threatened under New Jersey state law, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.
New Jersey’s Endangered and Nongame Species Act prohibits the taking, possession, transportation, exportation or sale of spotted turtles, North American wood turtles, and Eastern box turtles, among other species. New Jersey has designated the North American wood turtle as threatened because it is a vulnerable species that could become endangered. The spotted turtle and Eastern box turtle are listed as species of special concern.
According to Fishman, Elfers admitted that from December 2011 through March 2014 he possessed various turtle species, including spotted turtles, North American wood turtles, and Eastern box turtles, at his home in Jersey City without the required permits under New Jersey State law.
He allegedly advertised the turtles on wildlife trade websites to prospective purchasers in New Jersey and elsewhere. Elfers also allegedly shipped turtles to purchasers in New York State by tying them in tube socks to restrict their movement and packing them in boxes that were neither designed nor appropriate for the shipment of live animals.
As part of his probationary term, Elfers is prohibited from residing with wildlife of any kind and his computer will be monitored for any online wildlife trade activity.
He must also pay a fine of $30,450 for the care and housing of the 40 turtles Elfers forfeited as part of his plea agreement. The mandatory forfeiture included 27 Eastern box turtles, one Florida box turtle, three three-toed box turtles, five Gulf Coast box turtles and four North American wood turtles.
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