No More Turtle Ban?
Turtle farmers in Louisiana and Mississippi are lobbying federal
legislators to make it legal to once again sell baby turtles
in the United States, according to published news reports.
Banned from domestic sales since 1975 to control the spread
of Salmonella, the tiny turtles are still in strong demand,
reportedly due in part to black-market Internet sales.
Now that breeders are able to produce turtles that are Salmonella-free,
turtle farmers are campaigning to change the law to allow
them to sell the reptiles to U.S. pet stores.
Rep. Rodney Alexander, R.-La., plans to introduce a bill
to allow the sale of turtle hatchlings that are certified
Salmonella-free. However, the response to Hurricane Katrina
has delayed the bill’s introduction, said a spokeswoman
in the congressman’s Washington office.
Earlier this year, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture
and Forestry adopted an emergency rule eliminating Salmonella
testing requirements for pet turtles and eggs. The department
said testing was no longer necessary because a non-antibiotic
effective in killing Salmonella in pet turtles has been developed.
Currently farmers must ship baby turtles to dealers in Singapore,
China, Mexico and other overseas markets.
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