[Dtwg] Captive PIT tagged terrapin

[Marguerite Whilden]

Regarding the tagged terrapin discovered at a reptile show, it would be helpful to have a readily available chart describing all terrapin tagging efforts.  If not already established there should be a code of ethics adopted by any/all researchers permitted by States to tag wild terrapins that would require an effort to notify the source of the original tag. (The Maryland Scientific Collection Permit once required such notification.) I learned recently that terrapins with Terrapin Institute tags and other obvious telltale marks on the shell were discovered in the Chesapeake.  Unfortunately there was no effort to identify the original tagger and report such findings because the researcher was unaware of any other tagging programs.  The Terrapin Institute has posted several photos depicting examples of our various tagging techniques beginning with our 1998 tags.  
Might there be any interest among this membership to compile a chart of tagging efforts and develop a code of ethics?  

> On Oct 16, 2019, at 12:15 PM, Barbara Brennessel <bbrennes at wheatonma.edu> wrote:
> 
> Thank you for all your responses. We identified the area from which the captive PIT tagged terrapin originated.  Law enforcement is now in the picture. 
> 
>  It's quite a coincidence that this was reported just after the DTWG workshop in Wilmington at which there were a couple of talks that mentioned poaching.
> 
> -- 
> Barbara Brennessel, Ph.D.
> Professor Emerita
> Wheaton College
> Norton, MA 02766
> 
> cell:508-479-6553
> 
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