Tortoises, wild or domesticated, dead or alive, or their eggs are not to be bought, sold, or taken across state lines without a permit. A special permit has been granted to Clark County by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove tortoises from certain lands to be developed. Removal of wild tortoises from those properties is now voluntary on the part of the developer, but no tortoise is to be intentionally killed during development. They should be collected and turned over to the Clark County Tortoise Pick-up Service, not taken for personal use. It is against the law to collect a wild tortoise without a permit .
Tortoises often cross roads through undeveloped desert.
The Desert Tortoise is a threatened species and take is not allowed without a special permit. Take means harm, harass, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect. There is no reason to rescue it by taking it home or far out into the desert. If you were to pick it up to move it to the side of the road to which the tortoise was heading, that, too, is illegal. It may startle the tortoise and cause it to pass all the water in its bladder.