The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization, calls for marking World Turtle Day by focusing on the special conservation needs of turtles. This May 23, The HSUS hopes its supporters will reflect on past victories for turtles and reinvigorate new efforts to better protect them.
At the state level, turtles are winning important new protections. At the federal level, Congress is considering action that would threaten both public health and the welfare of the animals.
In Florida, regulators are rethinking the killing of gopher tortoises on construction sites. For 16 years, the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has allowed developers to pay a fee enabling them to bury gopher tortoises alive. Under that policy, they have authorized the destruction of more than 94,000 animals.
"When the bulldozers rumble, the tortoises would retreat into their presumably safe burrows," says Jennifer Hobgood, program coordinator for The HSUS's Southeast regional office. "Then the bulldozers would crush the burrow openings, leaving the animals immobilized underground to die a painfully slow death. We had to find a way to save the tortoises, and we applaud the FWC and local developers for working with us."
In response to a request from The HSUS, the FWC developed a new process that allows concerned citizens to work with developers to relocate the animals out of harm's way. Using this process, The HSUS, along with local humane and conservation groups, have saved 46 gopher tortoises and have plans underway that could save 700 more. Additionally, the FWC has proposed for public comment a species management plan. The plan would declare gopher tortoises threatened in the state and end the pay-and-bury policy except for emergency circumstances and sites that already have permits.
"We hope the final rule will provide even greater protections," Hobgood added.
The FWC also recently approved regulations prohibiting possession of small red-eared slider turtles in the state beginning July 1, 2008. The rule addresses the environmental consequences when the animals escape or are released from the pet trade and displace native species. Red-eared sliders, who are not native to the state, have been reproducing in the wild and breeding with native yellow-bellied sliders.
At the federal level, the sale of small turtles (with shells less than four inches long) has been prohibited in the United States since 1975 to prevent the spread of Salmonella. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this rule prevents 100,000 children from getting Salmonella each year. The consequences can be tragic: This year, a 4-week-old Florida child died from Salmonella exposure from a pet turtle.
In addition to the health risks, selling turtles as pets threatens animal welfare and the environment. Countless turtles die from poor shipping methods and inadequate care. If they survive, they can live for decades, outlasting childhood interest. Released or escaped turtles have displaced native species in Florida and other states.
Now Congress is considering reversing this longstanding policy. The Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act that recently passed the Senate (S. 1082) included an amendment that would require the FDA to allow the sale of small turtles under certain circumstances. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 924) and Senate (S. 540).
"As we mark World Turtle Day 2007, it's the best of times, it's the worst of times for turtles," says Beth Preiss, The HSUS' director of the exotic pets campaign. "While some states are protecting turtles, Congress is considering legislation that would overturn 30 years of good policy. The Humane Society of the United States urges lawmakers to leave the current regulations prohibiting sales of small turtles in place in the interests of public health, animal welfare and the environment. The FDA recently re-emphasized the health risks of pet turtles, and Congress should not overturn its judgment."
Facts:
- World Turtle Day was originated by American Tortoise Rescue, a California-based nonprofit association founded in 1990 to provide for the rescue, rehabilitation, protection and adoption of all species of tortoise and turtle.
- Though all can be called turtles, in North America the word tortoise is used for species who live mostly on land, turtles for species who live in water, and terrapins for species who live in brackish water (where saltwater and freshwater mix). There are exceptions, however, such as box turtles who live on land. In Europe, the names are reversed: turtles live on land while tortoises live in the sea.
- Gopher tortoises live in long thin burrows that they excavate. Many other species use their burrows, another reason the survival of the species is critical.
- Florida's new rescue and relocate program came too late for Phoenix, the largest gopher tortoise on record in the world. Phoenix was crushed at a Ft. Myers construction site in March and buried for dead. The animal managed to re-emerge from the ground two weeks later, but was too weakened for rehabilitators to save.
- The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will meet in Austin on May 23 and 24 to decide whether to publish a final rule banning the commercial harvest of freshwater turtles in Texas public streams and allowing commercial take of turtles in private waters. The HSUS urges the Commission to prohibit the commercial harvest of all turtles in the state.
