Kentucky Turtle Laws Explained

Usually, laws can be a little hard to understand, and laws about turtles can be the same, whether you want to buy one or to sell one. So I decide to make this article where I am going to explain as simply as possible the laws from Kentucky about turtles.

Before diving into the exact laws let me answer a couple of the most asked questions.

Is it illegal to own turtles in Kentucky? No, you can legally own a turtle in Kentucky, it all depends on the species. There are certain endangered species that are protected by the law that are illegal to own, but most of the common ones are not endangered and you can own them as pets.

Is it illegal to sell turtles in Kentucky? You can legally sell turtles in Kentucky only if you have a license or a permit. If you don’t own one it is illegal and punishable by the law.

Laws regarding turtles are very different from state to state, while every state agrees on some aspects, like the fact that owning endangered turtles is illegal, a lot of states have a lot of laws regarding native turtles, but very few about non-native turtles, and as a result, things can get a little complicated if you don’t understand them properly. So let’s take a closer look at the laws of Kentucky and see what they have to say.

Note: The term “turtle” includes all animals commonly known as turtles, tortoises, and terrapins.

Turtle Ownership Laws in Kentucky

It’s illegal to own Alligator Snapping turtles.

If you want to own more than 5 turtles, you will need a non-commercial captive wildlife permit from the state.

It’s illegal to release pet turtles into the wild.

It’s illegal to own any of the seven sea turtle species: Loggerhead turtles, Green sea turtles, Leatherback turtles, Hawksbill turtles, Kemp’s ridley turtles, Olive ridley turtles, and Flatback turtles.

It’s illegal to own an endangered turtle species, without a license or permit from the state.

Turtle Commercialization Laws in Kentucky

In order to commercialize turtles, you will need a commercial captive wildlife permit.

There is no limit to the number of captive breed turtles that you can possess with a commercial captive wildlife permit, but you still cannot own more than 5 wild-caught turtles.

Even with a commercial captive wildlife permit, you cannot sell wild-caught turtles, only captive-bred ones.

It’s illegal to sell or commercialize in any way any of the seven sea turtle species: Loggerhead turtles, Green sea turtles, Leatherback turtles, Hawksbill turtles, Kemp’s ridley turtles, Olive ridley turtles, and Flatback turtles.

It’s illegal to sell or commercialize in any way endangered or vulnerable turtle species.

The 4 Inches Law

In 1975, the US government passed regulations with a stated goal to protect sea turtle eggs, reduce environmental damage, and reduce health risks. In short, this law makes it illegal to sell turtles that are smaller than 4 inches. Here is the law.

Code of federal regulations, title 21, volume 8, part 1240 ‘Control of communicable diseases’, subpart D ‘Specific Administrative Decisions Regarding Interstate Shipments’, section 1240.62 ‘Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements.’

(a) Definition. As used in this section the term “turtles” includes all animals commonly known as turtles, tortoises, terrapins, and all other animals of the order Testudinata, class Reptilia, except marine species (families Dermochelyidae and Cheloniidae).

(b) Sales; general prohibition. Except as otherwise provided in this section, viable turtle eggs and live turtles with a carapace length of less than 4 inches shall not be sold, held for sale, or offered for any other type of commercial or public distribution. [emphasis mine]

(c) [I’ve omitted this part. It deals with eggs, consequences, how to report, how to appeal, penalties, etc.]

(d) Exceptions. The provisions of this section are not applicable to:

(1) The sale, holding for sale, and distribution of live turtles and viable turtle eggs for bona fide

scientific, educational, or exhibitional purposes, other than use as pets. [emphasis mine]

(2) The sale, holding for sale, and distribution of live turtles and viable turtle eggs not in connection with a business.

If you want to read the entire act here is a link to it: FDA Title 21, Volume 8

Laws About Wild Turtles in Kentucky

You can take up to 5 turtles per year from the wild if you don’t own a fishing license.

To take more than 5 turtles per year from the wild you will need a fishing license.

You can take Common Snapping Turtles and Softshell Turtles year-round from the wild.

If you want to use fishing gear to remove turtles from the wild you will need a fishing license.

If you want to use hunting gear to remove turtles from the wild you will need a hunting license.

Kentucky Native Species

Alligator Snapping Turtle Macroclemys temminckii

Common Map Turtle Graptemys geographica

Common Musk Turtle (Stinkpot) Sternotherus odoratus

Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina serpentina

Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina carolina

Eastern River Cooter Pseudemys concinna concinna

Eastern Mud Turtle Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum

Eastern Spiny Softshell Apalone spinifera spinifera

False Map Turtle Graptemys pseudogeographica pseudogeographica

Hieroglyphic River Cooter Pseudemys concinna hieroglyphica

Midland Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta marginata

Midland Smooth Softshell Apalone mutica mutica

Mississippi Map Turtle Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii

Mississippi Mud Turtle Kinosternon subrubrum hippocrepis

Ouachita Map Turtle Graptemys ouachitensis ouachitensis

Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans

Southern Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta dorsalis

Kentucky Laws About Sea Turtles

There are 7 different sea turtle species, and all of them are either endangered or vulnerable. So in all states, they are protected by law. This means that you can’t own or commercialize sea turtles, no matter which species it is.

It is also illegal to destroy or disturb sea turtles’ nests. Also, the sea turtle’s eggs cannot be sold or disturbed in any way.

Sea turtles also have specific nesting sites, and all of them are usually on beaches. So making any kind of major change to the nesting area is also prohibited.

If you want to be able to study sea turtles you are going to need a Service and/or a State permit. Any activity that exceeds the limits of State authority for an endangered species will require a Federal permit in addition to the State permit.

A permit from the State or the Service is needed to capture or remove sea turtles from the wild. That permit may allow retention of specimens in captivity and, if so, sea turtles may be transferred by the permittee to a facility for holding in accordance with their authorization.

States may issue permits for capture and retention of sea turtles under the auspices of their ESA section 6 agreements with the Service. However, a Service permit will be needed for endangered species in the following circumstances:

• The death or permanent disabling of a sea turtle
• The removal of a sea turtle from that State
• The holding of a sea turtle in captivity for a period of more than 45 consecutive days

NOTE: Under the Emergency provisions of their section 6 cooperative agreements with the Service, States can authorize holding endangered sea turtles for more than 45 consecutive days if such holding is necessary to aid sick or injured turtles.

If the original permit for taking a sea turtle from the wild allows for it, the specimen may be transferred between the original holding facility to others, even out of state, without additional authorization from the Service. Note that both parties of a transfer should generate and maintain documentation to demonstrate that a sea turtle has been taken and possessed lawfully. Copies of applicable permits should be enclosed with shipments of sea turtles.

This information should cover the basics of what you need to know about the laws regarding sea turtles. If you want to obtain a permit to work with sea turtles you should check out the Fish and Wildlife government site where you will find every detail that you have to know: https://www.fws.gov.

Why Those Laws Exist

A lot of turtle species are endangered or vulnerable at the moment so a lot of those laws are in place to ensure their safety. Without laws that protect turtles, people would still be hunting them to extinction or taking them from their natural habitat without thinking about the consequences.

Another reason why those exist is to protect the environment. A lot of people believed that if they don’t want to have a turtle as a pet they can just release them in the nearest forest or lake without any consequences, but that’s not the case. Every ecosystem has its own balance and adding or extracting a species from it can greatly destabilize that balance. This is another reason why those laws exist.

So in general those laws exist to protect the turtles and the environment. It is completely possible that the laws might change at some point. After all most laws aim to protect and help endangered turtle species to grow in number. After a species will reach again a good healthy number there is a good chance that the laws will be less restrictive.

Conclusion

So these are the laws of Kentucky regarding turtles. Different states have different turtle populations, and most states have laws that focus on native turtle populations, and sometimes they forget to cover some non-native populations. If the state laws don’t mention that you can legally own a certain turtle species that it’s not endangered then you most probably can, as long as you don’t break any other law regarding turtles. If you want to be completely sure you can always contact the state department that deals with wildlife. You will find in the resource section of this article the official website where I did the research for this article, there you will also find a contact page if you want to ask them a more specific question.

*This article has been updated in April 2023

Resources

Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources

*Note that I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. The materials available on this website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice.

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