Reptile Law Symposium Panelist Profile: Marcus Cantos

National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium panelist Marcus Cantos was the general manager of a large reptile and amphibian import/export company for 12 years before launching his own reptile breeding project specializing in turtles and tortoises in 2003.

Today, his company, the Turtle Source, devotes much of its resources toward the successful education about and keeping of turtles and tortoises at numerous schools, zoos, aquariums, and to the general public.

Cantos has had notes, commentaries, photos, and articles published in Reptiles Magazine, and his work of more than 40 years working with chelonians has been cited in many turtle husbandry books and international breeding papers.

An amateur field herpetologist, naturalist, and photographer, Cantos' experiences have ranged from the wilds of his native Long Island, NY, to the mountains of Arizona, his current home of more than 20 years in Florida, and even the Paraguayan Chaco, where he located and recorded red and black tegus, several tortoise species, many little-known amphibian and snake species, and some of the very first specimens of the newly discovered turtle species Acanthochelys maccrocephala, the pantanal swamp turtle.

In the 1990s, Cantos worked closely with the Reptile Industry, PIJAC, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to successfully develop safe and humane shipping standards and regulations for reptiles. From 2000 to 2003, he worked with the reptile industry, PIJAC, the Florida Department of Agriculture, and the USDA to develop the National Reptile Improvement Plan, now the gold standard for reptile keeping for both the hobbyist and commercial keepers.

For the past 12 years, as an industry elected representative, he has actively worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on numerous reptile regulations and issues. During this same time Cantos has also served in several reptile industry/USDA working groups, and is currently serving his third term on the Florida Department of Agriculture's Animal Industry Technical Council, appointed by Florida's Agriculture Commissioner to advise and update the State of Florida on all reptile industry matters and issues.

Cantos has presented to numerous herpetological societies, the Turtle and Tortoise Club of Florida, and at the National Reptile Breeder's Expo. For nearly three decades, he has appeared numerous times before legislators, state and federal government agencies, councils, and commissions as an industry member and representative on reptile and amphibian laws and how they relate to and affect hobbyists and industry members.

Born in Queens, NY, and attending St. John's University, Cantos earned an AS degree in business administration and a BS degree management science. He is a member of the Calusa Herpetological Society, the Turtle and Tortoise Club of Florida, the Turtle And Tortoise Preservation Group, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, and the United States Association of Reptile Keepers.

Cantos has been a reptile hobbyist since his earliest years, keeping and breeding a wide range of reptiles. Today he works with over 200 varieties of turtles and tortoises, successfully breeding 58 species, including some that are essentially extinct in nature. Through assurance colonies, successfully managed and maintained by both hobbyists and professional breeders, he understands that captive breeding is the proven answer for many species of reptiles and amphibians whose wild populations are declining for a variety of reasons in today's world.

Marcus Cantos from the Florida reptile industry will be a panelist at the free National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium and Workshop in Washington, D.C., March 7-8. For more information and to register to attend, please click here.