04/23/2026
This may be a controversial take but I’m going to say it anyways. Please keep in mind I’m talking specifically about Maryland although I feel this way anywhere red eared sliders are invasive.
Friendly PSA about wild red-eared sliders 🐢
I’ve been getting more messages from kind-hearted people who find wild red-eared sliders and “rescue” them because they know the species is invasive.
I understand the intention — people want to help.
But in many areas, red-eared sliders already have long-established, self-sustaining breeding populations. Removing one random turtle from a pond or creek does not solve the invasive species issue.
In fact, taking a healthy turtle out of the wild often creates a new problem.
A few things to consider:
I found a red eared slider almost always does not mean someone lost a pet.
• Wildlife rescues and sanctuaries cannot absorb endless numbers of common sliders. The cost, space, filtration, food, and disease risks are enormous.
• Taking wild turtles into captive collections can introduce parasites or pathogens to existing animals.
• There is no large-scale “relocation network” where rescues can simply take every invasive slider found in the wild.
• Once a population is established, management is a much bigger ecological issue than individuals can solve one turtle at a time.
If you found a healthy wild red-eared slider and simply picked it up because it was invasive… the best thing is often to return it where you found it or have never taken it at all.
(That is very different from abandoned pet turtles — please never release pets.)
Well-meaning removal of random wild sliders often does more harm than good, and overwhelms rescues already struggling to help animals with nowhere else to go.
Sometimes the most helpful thing is to leave wildlife be. 🐢
