By Gus Saltonstall
Gail Buchwald stumbled upon the Central Park turtle issue.
She was out for a stroll earlier this year when she noticed a man feeding turtles at The Lake in Central Park.
“I grew up with a tortoise as a pet. I now have different feelings about exotic animals as pets, but I was able to learn as a kid about turtles and tortoises,” Buchwald said to West Side Rag in a phone call. “So, I came to love turtles. I’m also not a fan of people feeding wildlife, especially human food, so I had a ‘friendly altercation’ with the man.”
While the man could not be completely talked out of the action, Buchwald decided to run over to a nearby pet store to at least get turtle food, which he accepted. The pair ended up sitting together.
“He pointed out that one of the turtles had a big rusted hook protruding from its mouth,” Buchwald said. “He attempted to remove the hook, but could not. So, I went up to the Wild Bird Fund and asked them if they would be able to remove a hook, and they said yes.”
Buchwald grabbed a box, returned to The Lake, and transported the turtle to the wildlife rescue organization on Columbus Avenue, between West 87th and 88th streets. The animal professionals were able to remove the fishing hook and also told Buchwald that a Parks Ranger recently brought in three turtles from the Harlem Meer in Central Park with fishing hooks also embedded in their mouths.
“That is when it became clear to me that this was a real problem,” Buchwald told WSR.
When Buchwald got back to The Lake to return the turtle, a teenager showed up at the same time with a fishing rod.
Fishing is not illegal in Central Park. You can take part in catch-and-release fishing at most bodies of water in Central Park, including the Harlem Meer and The Lake. What is prohibited within the park, though, is barbed hooks, which lodge into the mouth of anything they snare, including turtles.
Barbed fishing hooks have a small, backward-facing metal point behind the tip of the hook that latches onto the fish, or whatever else it might snare, whereas a barbless hook has a smooth shaft that relies on puncturing the fish. Barbed fishing hooks make it easier to reel a fish in, but also increase the chance of the fish being damaged in the process.
“Central Park guidelines list that you cannot use barbed hooks, but they don’t have anyone enforcing it,” Buchwald said. “And let’s put it this way, I’ve never seen someone fishing in Central Park not using a barbed hook.”
Catherine Quayle, the communications director at the Wild Bird Foundation, confirmed to West Side Rag that the organization has received eight to 10 turtles with fishing hooks in their mouths in 2026, and five to six of them in the last two months.
She added that almost all of the turtles came from Central Park.
“We see illegal hooks all the time,” Quayle told the Rag in a phone call. “First I would say, it’s not just turtles. We receive ducks, herons, gulls, swans, all of the wildlife in Central Park and other parks can get hooked on discarded fishing tackle, and they do. It happens all the time. It’s very, very common. We’re not opposed to fishing. Fishing is a great way for people to enjoy the park, but it needs to be either better enforced or there needs to be better education about how to handle situations where you hook an animal.”
While enforcement on the barbed hooks is important, Quayle pointed to a different component of fishing as where she’d like to see stronger oversight.
“The proper disposal of fishing equipment,” she said. “Sometimes, it is just left in the water. People frequently find fishing lines with hooks on it tangled around trees, or people not disposing of their fishing tackle properly. There are times when people who are fishing get their hook caught on something, and then just cut the line. That’s when we get into really bad problems.”
When reached for comment, a Central Park Conservancy spokesperson wrote, “The Central Park Conservancy encourages everyone fishing in the Park to follow all applicable regulations and practice safe, responsible catch-and-release fishing. More broadly, we ask all Park visitors to leave the Park better than they found it—which means properly disposing of fishing line, hooks, and other waste, and giving wildlife the space and care they need to thrive.”
The spokesperson reiterated that barbed hooks are prohibited within the park, but that enforcement, licensing, or ensuring compliance with fishing hook requirements fall under the jurisdiction of the New York State Department of Environmental Protection.
Buchwald spoke to a staff member at a veterinary practice that specializes on exotic animals on the subject of whether turtles feel pain.
“The vet said, ‘Oh, they feel pain. They do not like injections,'” Buchwald said. “When you think about the tiny size of a needle from an injection, and compare that with the size of a hook, and then add to that gravity when a turtle is being reeled out of the water with all of its body weight being carried in the roof of its mouth by that hook. I think the pain is quite remarkable. Turtles do feel pain. And I would like the public to have a better understanding of that.”
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good for Buchwald (and the turtle)!
Scientists have known for quite a while that turtles — as well as fish — feel pain. There is no way that even “catch and release” is “responsible” or humane behavior. (Imagine having someone deliberately catch you in your mouth with a barbed hook that pierces the skin, then removes it, tossing you back, and feels good about themself for doing so.)