{"id":1198,"date":"2026-05-16T22:39:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T22:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1198"},"modified":"2026-05-16T22:39:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T22:39:48","slug":"shell-shocked-california-man-arrested-for-attempting-to-traffic-wild-turtles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1198","title":{"rendered":"Shell-shocked: California man arrested for attempting to traffic wild turtles"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"b8c55c39-d7ac-4053-ad38-a77be37f6ffe\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A cute little turtle with a green, white, pink, and black shell, with a spotted head and bulging eyes.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/052ca34f8493e772d17e6a90569a3dd1d1c16e3a\/127_0_5750_4601\/master\/5750.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.0808695652174\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">A loggerhead musk turtle (<em>Sternotherus minor)<\/em>.<\/span> Photograph: R Andrew Odum\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"b8c55c39-d7ac-4053-ad38-a77be37f6ffe\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">A loggerhead musk turtle (<em>Sternotherus minor)<\/em>.<\/span> Photograph: R Andrew Odum\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Shell-shocked: California man arrested for attempting to traffic wild turtles<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Donald Do allegedly sought to export 292 loggerhead musk turtles under the false claim they had been captive-bred<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/california\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">California<\/a> man, who received a federal permit to export turtles under the false claim that they had been captive-bred, has been arrested on wildlife-trafficking charges, authorities said on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Donald Do and an unidentified accomplice allegedly sought to export 292 loggerhead musk turtles to Taiwan from December 2022 to May 2024. The accomplice obtained the US Fish and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/wildlife\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Wildlife<\/a> Service export license, after which, authorities say, Do purchased turtles poached from the wild in Florida and other locales. Do had also allegedly sent instructions for the animals to be shipped to San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A Louisiana man, Albert Bazaar, whom Do allegedly tried to buy 200 turtles from, has also been taken into custody for turtle trafficking. Bazaar has been accused of poaching and selling more than 1,700 loggerhead musk turtles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Per a federal conservation law, the Lacey Act, it is illegal to share false information about wildlife related to international or interstate commerce. The loggerhead musk turtles are classified as a protected species.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Loggerhead musk turtles are so named for their large heads. They have powerful jaws, which allow them to feed on hard-shelled prey, and can be found in US coastal waters. Their small size \u2013 about 3-5in \u2013 mean they can easily be kept in an aquarium.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Law enforcement has cracked down on turtle poachers in the south-eastern US in an operation dubbed \u201cSouthern Hot Herps\u201d, according to the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">If convicted of the charge, Do faces up to five years in prison. He pleaded not guilty at a recent court hearing, according to the Los Angeles Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A bond hearing has been scheduled in his case for 21 May.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/california\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">California<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-crime\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/animals\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Animals<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/environment\/endangeredspecies\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Endangered species<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/environment\/wildlife\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Wildlife<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/west-coast\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">West Coast<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/environment\/conservation\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Conservation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Shell-shocked:%20California%20man%20arrested%20for%20attempting%20to%20traffic%20wild%20turtles&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/16\/california-turtle-trafficking?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F16%2Fcalifornia-turtle-trafficking&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/16\/california-turtle-trafficking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor). Photograph: R Andrew Odum\/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A loggerhead musk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1200,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198\/revisions\/1200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}