Community Corner
Bel Air Turtle Derby Under Fire from Animal Advocates
Citizens request keeping wildlife in the wild on the Fourth of July.
The Bel Air Fourth of July turtle derby and frog-jumping race came under fire last year by wildlife advocates, and the pressure is still on.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a letter to the Bel Air Independence Day Committee in recent weeks calling for the cancellation of the live animal races, but "we were ignored," a PETA representative told The Aegis.
The Susquehannock Wildlife Society, which promotes wildlife conservation around the Chesapeake Bay, issued a statement Thursday urging citizens to leave turtles and frogs in the wild, with veterinarians, wildlife experts and students signing off on its plea.
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Among them was a group of environmental science students from North Harford High School who put together an educational video entitled "Stop the Derby: Make It a Tradition to Keep Wildlife Wild," after researching reptiles in the region.
"While the derby can be a fun and entertaining pastime, we understand that it has to be stopped if we want to preserve our reptile and amphibian populations," one student said in the video.
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Students said that when the derby started, "we didn't know then what we know now," which is that diseases can spread through removal of species from their native habitat.
Last year, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources advised against using wild turtles in derbies, citing the spread of disease and infection like Ranavirus and Salmonella.
The Susquehannock Wildlife Society engaged the Bel Air Independence Day Committee in 2013 to create a new event without the use of wild animals, but the organizers are continuing with the races, which they say are tradition.
Organizers did not respond to an inquiry from Patch regarding the consideration of alternate activities this year. However, the committee said on its website: "We love our turtles—and having a turtle derby has been a feature of this event for decades."
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