Thank you! This all sounds more complex and difficult than I originally thought. I’m going to have to enlist some help. Isn’t there a television about some guys who capture alligators? I wonder if they’d want to go after a snapping turtle.
You said "big snapping turtle"... I know what I would call big, but unsure of your scale ;-) Main points are to get it to clamp onto something other than you, and keep it thus occupied until released at final destination. And yes, if it is BIG don't try it by yourself, as I said, they can reach farther than you would expect with their visegrip ;-)
There are probably people who would remove it for you, but I've never gone looking for any of them since I tend to address the turtle problem myself (which really depends on whether its location here on the 80 acres is far enough from the house that the grandkids won't find it.. ;-) (if you leave it alone, it will mate and create more, um, soup fixin's ;-)
If you don't have 80 acres for it to stay out of your way, then it's best to relocate it in some fashion, especially if you have young'ums who think that all critters are cute and cuddly like kittehs...
Snappers are not cute. Neither are they cuddly. They bite. They 'snap' with astonishing velocity. Yes there is a way for a single person to pick up a large turtle without the stick method, but knowing that these things bite and bite hard (they can actually sever your fingers if the turtle is large enough) I hesitate to even mention that because someone will try it without knowing how and foreverafter be known as 'three fingers'...
If you are unsure, get help or a professional. (Is that a suitable disclaimer?)
This information is very helpful. The turtle looks big to me but I’ve only seen two in my life so I don’t know how big they get. I don’t get too close to measure him but I’d say he’s about 17 or maybe 18 inches. I’ve only seen one so I’m hoping he’s male and he hasn’t laid any eggs. The pond has a lot of bass in it but I figure the fish are at risk and the turtle has to go. There is a small river near by - I’m hoping he’ll swim downstream if I put him there. I’ll keep you posted.