A conservation biologist and realtor by training, Maurice Rodrigues co-founded the Turtle Conservancy in 2005. The non-profit takes in abandoned, homeless, and illegally trafficked reptiles confiscated at airports in the New York City metro area. According to law enforcement officers working with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, inspectors seize about 600 to 1,000 native turtles a year at John F. Kennedy International Airport alone.
