An analysis of the linked decisions in the confiscation of illegally traded turtles

Over the last few decades, freshwater turtles have become more common in the illegal wildlife trade because of growing global demand. Illegally traded turtles may be intercepted by several different agencies with separate jurisdictions. When turtles are confiscated, uncertainties may make releasing them back to the wild difficult. We used tools from decision analysis to achieve the following three objectives: (1) map elements of the decision process and their relationships in the illegal turtle trade using conceptual models, (2) outline the linked decisions for turtle confiscation and repatriation using decision trees, and (3) evaluate the decision trees for two example scenarios, one with moderate uncertainty and one with high uncertainty. We used the wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) as a case study, which is a species of conservation concern in part due to illegal wildlife trafficking. We conducted 23 semi-structured interviews of decision makers in law enforcement, biologists, land managers, and zoo staff. Interviews revealed that decisions regarding the disposition of confiscated turtles are complicated by uncertainty in disease status and origin. Decision makers that handle confiscated turtles also recognize that their decisions are often made in sequence and dependent on the outcome of antecedent decisions. In evaluating our decision trees, we found that the optimal decisions for example scenarios were similar and insensitive to uncertainty. Future applications of the decision trees by decision makers would involve a decision analyst to parameterize and interpret the choices and consequences involved in working through these decision trees. Collectively, our work shows how the use of decision trees can help structure and evaluate risky decisions for repatriating confiscated wildlife.