Like I said, KY regulations are soft when it comes to native species. It really gets my attention in regards to hellbenders as we have a decent population which is just now getting surveyed at various locals throughout the state.

In regards to the turtles, I know a few people who collect them for food and I see healthy populations of them in some areas. I'm not certain as to how many are collected each year for this purpose, but I would speculate that it's not that many compared with the overall population. I agree that fish and wildlife should keep tabs on these sorts of things to prevent them from becoming extripated.