First - thanks for caring. Returning a captive turtle to its natural habitat may sound like the best thing to do, but please consider the following:

• Research has shown that box turtles often have very limited home ranges and when released into a strange area seldom do well. To read more on this, please refer to: The McKeever Study.
• A captive turtle may harbor diseases (respiratory infections, shell rot, etc.) that are not recognized by the owner. When released, the former captive can make other turtles that they come in contact with sick. Undiagnosed and untreated illness can lead to the death of your turtle. It is likely that released captive tortoises are responsible for the severe die-offs experienced by some populations of desert tortoises - see: Demographic Consequences of Disease in Two Desert Tortoise Populations in California, USA.
• The GCTTS has a rescue / rehabilitation / adoption program that will take captive box turtles that are no longer wanted by their owners. The turtle will be evaluated for illness, rehabilitated if needed, and adopted to a GCTTS member with the proper experience and facilities to properly house and care for it. We only adopt to members who can house native species outdoors.