In Florida, possession of gopher tortoises is a second-degree misdemeaner punishable by up to 60 days in jail, a $500 fine or both.
So learned Carl Franklin King on Saturday evening when a Pinellas County sherrif's deputy stopped him in Palm Harbor for outstanding warrants (burglary & criminal mischief charges) & found 6 gopher tortoises in the trunk of his car.
When challenged about the tortoises, King told deputies that he wanted to cook them for a soup. Apparently, gopher tortoise meat is considered a delicacy.
Who knew?
8 comments:
Mmmm.
That's gotta be embarrassing!
I didn't mention it in the post, but the guy had been caught poaching gopher tortoises in May as well. The article didn't mention if he was punished for the previous offense.
This guy is nuts. The price of turtle soup is too high. If I were him, I'd stick with Progresso & leave the turtle alone.
I don't know about ferrets in California, but gopher tortoises are considered a species of special concern in Florida. They are endangered in North Carolina & threatened elsewhere is the Southern US.
That's gotta be embarassing.
"Hey man, whatcha in for?"
"Possession of turtles"
It could be worse...at least he's not Michael Jackson!
Wonder if he just said they were for soup, as a cover... His totem could be a turtle and he is collecting them. I hope they were still alive and treated well. At any rate, I feel he should have left them in their natural habitat.
Please explain what a totem means. I'm not familiar with the term.
As far as the tortoises he had in his car, they were released & doing well.
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