Is there a turtle race happening in your area?

Have you encountered any ornate box turtles lately? If not, the reason is that their numbers are declining due to habitat loss, poaching, and harmful activities such as county fair turtle races.

As a Sierra Club member, there are many ways you can help. 

1. You can express your opposition to turtle races by signing our petition or send a letter directly to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
2. Rally with other Sierra Club members at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Commission meeting at the J.O. Sundstrom Conference Center, 102 N. Main Street in Lindsborg, Kansas on June 18, 2026 at noon.
3. You can also investigate whether your county or city is planning any festival or fair this summer that features turtle races and express your opposition to those responsible.

Here are some talking points that you can use in addressing either the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, or local officials who are planning turtle races.

How do the races harm turtles? Let’s take it from Dr. Benjamin Reed, a biology professor at Washburn University whose entire career is centered on the ornate box turtle, which is the Kansas state reptile.

• By being in close proximity in large numbers, the turtles transmit deadly viruses to each other. (Last year Kansas Sierra Club turtle race observers saw “tubs of turtles” held for races, sometimes in filthy water.)
• Turtles are “philopatric,” which means that they have a tendency to remain in or return to the area of their birth. If they are not returned to the exact same spot after the race, they may suffer as they travel long distances searching for their home, and perish because they never find it. (According to educators at the Topeka Zoo, “Box turtles create mental maps of their home range in the wild, taking note of favorable food & water sources and
  where they can burrow. Even if the box turtle gets returned to the wild, if they are not placed in their home range it can be disorienting and shorten their lifespan.” Essentially, they cannot find the food, water and shelter they need to survive. Literature research by your fellow Kansas Sierrans reveals that about half die.)
• Poachers benefit from a large collection of captive turtles because they make money selling them in the illegal wildlife trade. In Asian markets, the demand for the ornate box turtle is high because they have over collected their native turtles.
• The ornate box turtle, and other species, are in decline due to habitat loss, negative human interventions and climate change.
• If we want to model responsible behavior and teach kids about the value of native wildlife, we will not encourage them to cause harm and suffering to animals, even if unintentional. Many people are not aware that this seemingly benign activity harms the turtles, so we have an opportunity to educate them, and persuade them to adopt other activities or competitive races that kids will enjoy.

Remember that the best place to see turtles is in the wild as they go about their natural activities. Join our “Leave ‘em in the Wild” campaign for ornate box turtles. 

Sign our petition, send a letter to KDWP Commissioners, and join us in Lindsborg on June 18th to tell them you want turtle racing stopped!