1100 Baby Turtles Face Death in Oregon
Wednesday October 8, 2008
I am really angry and sad about this. Here is a great example of why you should never keep an illegal species. Red eared sliders are illegal in Oregon (considered an invasive species); additionally, the sale of turtles under 4 inches long is banned in the US. It seems that Oregon Fish and Wildlife confiscated over 700 turtles from a woman's home after being tipped off that she was selling them at local flea markets (yes, 700 turtles in one home). Subsequently, a man (apparently the first woman's ex) turned in 300 more turtles, and then about 40 individuals came forward with turtles they had purchased. According to reports, all the turtles were about an inch long (so they also fall under the ban on distribution). The turtles were held for a bit, but some tested positive for Salmonella. I'm not sure why the Salmonella result had any bearing on what happened to the turtles (reptiles are commonly carriers), but I guess between the positive Salmonella status and the ban on distributing juvenile turtles, there weren't many options for these little critters, except euthanasia. All 1100 baby turtles were to be be killed.. Lesson here: people broke the law, but it was the baby turtles that paid a terrible price. How can that not make a person sad?
Comments
this is very sad! i want a turtle but have spent allot of time researching and have even turtle sat for a friend, so sad people cant just follow the rules.
People are so ignorant. If you know anything about these turtles, its that they usually DO have the bacteria that causes saminella living on them when they are young. That is why they are not supposed to be sold until they are 4″ in length. They eventually contain less amounts of the pathogen as they grow- why would anyone, ESPECIALLY a veternarian who should know this put them down? And another thing- if people washed their hands after handling such animals this would not be a threat.
It’s sad that people don’t realize that a simple thing, like washing your hands with an antibacterial would prevent the spread of salamanella