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Sam Panthaky / AFP - Getty Images
Baby red-eared slider turtles may be cute, but they can also carry dangerous salmonella bacteria. Petco, a retail chain, has offered to take back unwanted turtles and send them to a Louisiana turtle farm.
Multiple outbreaks of salmonella infections tied to tiny pet turtles have drawn sharp warnings from government health officials and an unusual offer from a leading pet retailer: Return them here.
Petco, the pet products chain, has launched a “turtle relinquishment program” aimed at both curbing illness and giving the rejected reptiles new homes.
Dawn Burch, veterinary relations manager for Petco, said the firm started accepting wayward turtles in May, just about the time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began warning about growing numbers of salmonella infections tied to the aquatic critters.
As of last week, 219 people in 34 states had been sickened in six overlapping outbreaks by salmonella found in small turtles sold in souvenir shops and at street fairs, CDC officials said. Infections have been caused by three rare strains of salmonella: Sandiego, Pomona and Poona.
“We saw this concern through the CDC and we thought, ‘How can we help in this situation?’” Burch said.
So far, 111 people in 10 states have taken Petco up on the offer and returned the turtles, typically red-eared sliders with shells that measure less than 4 inches across. People who want to participate can simply take the turtles to the nearest store. Though the CDC warning applies to the smallest turtles, Petco will accept turtles of any size, Burch said.
Petco has an agreement to send the turtles to Concordia Turtle Farm in Jonesville, La., which hatches, raises and sells turtles in the U.S. and abroad. Daisy DeWitt, a staffer at the farm, said the turtles are treated for any signs of salmonella and then placed in clean tanks where they thrive.
Some three million to four million red-eared sliders are exported from the U.S. every year, including many sent to foreign countries where they are regarded as pets -- and sometimes as delicacies to eat, according to a turtle-protection group called the Tortoise Trust.
Getting the turtles out of the hands of young children -- literally -- is the main concern of the CDC, said Lola Russell, an agency spokeswoman. The salmonella infections were detected in six separate but overlapping outbreaks dating from June 2011 to late September. Thirty-six people were hospitalized; no deaths were reported.
Two-thirds of those sickened in the outbreak have been children younger than 10; 30 percent of those who became ill are babies younger than 1, according to the CDC report. Infection typically occurs when young children handle turtles or related objects and then put their hands in their mouths.
Half of those who got sick were Hispanic, said officials, who issued warnings in Spanish and English.
Small turtles are a well-known source of salmonella infections, particularly in children. The risk is so strong, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale and distribution of turtles with shells less than 4 inches wide in 1975.
However, the small turtles still continue to show up in souvenir shops, flea markets and street fairs, where the risk of salmonella infection continues.
“Many people don’t know that turtles and other reptiles can carry germs that can make people very sick,” Casey Barton Behravesh, a veterinarian and deputy chief of the CDC’s outbreak response and prevention branch, said in a statement.
“For this reason, turtles and other reptiles might not be the best pets for your family, especially if there are children 5 years and younger or people with weakened immune systems living in your home.”
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Most people recover within several days, but some people -- particularly the very young, the very old and those with weak immune systems -- become very ill and may require hospitalization.
CDC officials are aware of the Petco turtle take-back program, but they don’t have a formal agreement with the company, Russell said.
“We don’t endorse any particular program,” she said. “But we do recommend that children under 5 don’t handle these turtles.”
Related stories:
- 66 sickened in outbreak linked to turtles
- Salmonella by mail? Hatchery sparks 8-year outbreak
- Not so cute: Pet hedgehogs sicken 14 with salmonella
Leave a Comment:
Common sense folks! All you need to do is wash your hands after handling any turtle.
Many people have no common sense.
Or, you know, children don't wash their hands, ever...
Animals like turtles, that do not ever enjoy human contact, should not be given to children in the first place. They are living animals, not playthings and if an adult is too stupid to wash their hands after handling an animal, then you are just asking for a sickness. Gross :s
Kayla, so true. Many out there look at such pets as disposable, as when the fun runs out, so does the life of the pet in question.
Imagine if every human got a hold of a non-human animal, and killed it or let it die, how fast our world would be without any other species. Unfortunately, most humans are simply ignorant, if not downright stupid about what is happening to the world we all are supposed to share in harmony. If we kill off every other life form, then we will only have ourselves to kill. That day becomes a closer fact of reality with every acre of rain forest cleared out, with every million human added to feed, for every human that doesn't respect nature and the balance that is supposed to keep us all alive, for generations well into the future.
I'm against keeping pets in cages, and that includes the reptile kingdom.
I believe in letting animals live free in their natural environment, and instead of spending money on pets, donating that money to preserving wild animal habitats.
Some people give their kids little animals like turtles and lizards as just another toy. Too bad those 'toys' are often neglected or handled improperly and then they die.
Newsflash, turtle soup is eaten in the South still too although these days it's usually snapping turtle.
Turtle farm in Louisiana ?....who would send their kid's pet to become a menu item.....
they shouldn't have bought them to begin with. some species of turtles/tortoises can live 100+ yrs. Would you want to spend a century in a fishtank? Turtles have very complicated needs that the average person cannot provide either because they don't care or don't know.
Probably better than the garbage disposal.
A recent scientific study of subway riders in NYC found that more than 50% of people who had given samples to researchers, were found to have feces on their hands. Pretty sure people are becoming stupider by the day...
I guess none of these children were taught over and over again to wash their hands because I had several of these turtles and NEVER EVER got sick.
We used to feed them raw hamburger and it was fun watching them and we NEVER EVER got sick.
You didn't get sick because those turtles you had were salmonella free. Not all of the turtles that CAN carry salmonella, DO carry salmonella. So, even though you didn't get sick, please, ALWAYS wash your hands after handling turtles. Turtles who are harboring salmonella can do so asymptomatically, so you can never tell for sure.
I do not for a second believe the turtles will be rescued. Shame on Petco for the obvious lie.
So why exactly do you think they got involved at all then?
Concordia Turtle Farm supplies turtle hatchlings to China so they can be killed for meat. Please don’t buy turtles as pets or take them from their natural homes. If you already have a turtle, please don’t send them off to an uncertain (and possibly gruesome) fate.
The turtles can be cured by simple ways , the easiest is to give the turtles food with antibiotics in it for the first two weeks, when getting a new turtle. Also keep the habitat clean. Most online pet supply houses sell food with the antibiotics already in it so you do not have to worry about over doses, including Petco! There is no need to ship them accross the USA to La. to cure them , then resell them again.
any pet including common dogs & cats have the same issue.
Lets gather them up and send them to the meat grinder for export.........
(sigh) Poor turtles...
Hey Happy turtles..
Why take the risk with small children! I can come up with a thousand alternatives for small kids to learn about and enjoy rather than handling an object that is proven to do harm to them. This has been a problem for decades and your advice is ridiculous. So is OK for a small a small child to walk around with a lit cigarette in their hand as long as they put it out when its time?
Plastic Man, Happy turtles suggested common sense hygiene. What is wrong with that? As for the real danger from animals: in 2010, 20 children in the USA were killed by dogs; in contrast from May 2007 to January 2008 the CDC received reports of 103 people (not all children) sickened by reptile associated salmonella, but not one death. Each year in the USA, about 350,000 people are treated at emergency rooms for dog bites.
The CDC and the story make it sound as if the risk of salmonella was the same for all kinds of reptiles. (“Many people don’t know that turtles and other reptiles can carry germs that can make people very sick,” Casey Barton Behravesh, a veterinarian and deputy chief of the CDC’s outbreak response and prevention branch, said in a statement.) However, 95% of all human cases of salmonella associated with reptiles comes from just two species. They are the common green iguana and the red eared slider turtle.
The health risk from most reptiles is no greater than that of other commonly kept pets and farm animals. The key is to keep the animals healthy and to use appropriate hygiene. Reptile can make entertaining pets, but monitor lizards tend to be like dogs and hang out under the grill. Mostly though, they just want to eat and sunbathe.
My sister keeps a turtle.
I send all these articles.
Think it would make any difference?
My kids visit, turtle is held, I worry.
According to Consumer Reports, 71% of the chickens sold in the USA are contaminated with salmonella. How do we deal with that? The proper method is proper food handling and hygiene. I kept a turtle as a kid, so did many of my friends. This is over-hyped nonsense.
What are these people doing that are reporting salmonella issues? French-kissing these turtles??? I grew up with turtles as pets (and petting was all that was involved), so it is dismaying as to how there could possibly be an "outbreak" of salmonella just because someone bought or owned a turtle. If you don't want to keep one, give it back to the store you got it from, simple fix. Just don't let it die because you saw it as a novelty for your kids. Which, btw, happens way too often.
Turtles, lizards, frogs, toads, anything you find in the wild, leave it alone!!! Or, if you want to help, if you find one in your yard, contact your local conservation group. They will move them to an area. Many species of animals have lived here on this planet much longer than humans have. Give them a chance to survive and multiply. Otherwise, our world is only set to self-destruct, with humans pushing the button.
I have raised caught studied and played with small turtles since I was two and some how I have never been sick. I remember when they banned them to begin with unless I am wrong some senators kid stuck one in his mouth and got sick. That is why it has to be over 4 inches should be to big to stick in ones mouth. I mean it would take some politicians kid to do something like that.
Anyway if we banned everything that could make us sick then we would have to ban just about everything we eat see and touch in our lives.
Just another case of everyone wanting to tell everyone else what to do and how to live.
We have become such become such a knee jerk lets make another law society it makes me wonder how we ever became the great country we are. Oh yea there was a time when people took responsibility for what they did and not looked to blame everyone and everything for things they may do!
Or we can continue to destroy all wildlife as we have for the last 100 years or so. Soon nothing will be left and then people will be really happy!!!!
Pretty basic biology: Animals of all types have digestive tracts. Eating their poop is bad. Don't do it.
Oh please! Make no mistake: This has NOTHING to do with PETCO being worried about people's health. It's been widely reporterd (albeit in the back pages) that the company supplies turtles to a Chinese company for meat? Yes, you read that correctly. Look online if you are skeptical. PETCO is in the business to make money off the misery of animals, not to safeguard people from disease.
The "back pages" also say you, stkittchick, are full of @!$%#. Whom shall I believe? They also say you are responsible for 9/11. It's fun to quote anonymous sources I made up.
Just take your turtles behind the barn and shoot them.