Comments on: Backstabbing LA Turtle Farmers…… http://blog.arbreptiles.com/2007/12/27/backstabbing-la-turtle-farmers/ The happenings here and abroad, my opinions, and the occasional social commentary. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:24:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Dr. Anole http://blog.arbreptiles.com/2007/12/27/backstabbing-la-turtle-farmers/#comment-36 Dr. Anole Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:21:18 +0000 http://blog.arbreptiles.com/2007/12/27/backstabbing-la-turtle-farmers/#comment-36 Yes, this bill was poorly thought out and really the turtle-breeders knee-jerk response to an LSU veterinarian's great study on decreasing salmonella prevalence by treating eggs. Is it fair that turtles are singled out by the federal ban? Maybe. But remember this ban was in response to children getting salmonella and sometimes, dying from it. Let me repeat that. Dying from it. 3 week old babies and 3 year old toddlers dying. Parents losing their children for no other reason than the petstore was more interested in selling the turtles than protecting the public health. And the ban DID decrease the incidence of human salmonella from reptiles. So it worked at least partially. Until now. The so-called "educational" loophole put a FATAL flaw into the turtle ban so that any simpleton could put a sign next to their turtles saying "For Educational Use Only" and sell them to anyone, whether they read the sign or not. And unfortunately, the truth is that salmonella is still being spread from the OTHER herps, sold by petstores and unethical private individuals at reptile swaps, to kids. And still, the kids are still sometimes dying (do a search on CDC and reptiles, you'll find many cases. Here's a recent one: >>On February 20, 2007, a female infant aged 3 weeks with a 1-day history of poor feeding and lethargy was evaluated in an emergency department at a Florida hospital. The patient was transferred immediately to a tertiary-care pediatric hospital; on arrival, she was febrile and in septic shock. Antibiotics were administered. She died on March 1. Cultures of cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples yielded Salmonella serotype Pomona. The parents of the patient were interviewed by the Florida Department of Health. A family friend had purchased a small turtle with a carapace of 1.25 inches from a flea market in north central Florida in mid-November 2006. The turtle was purchased as a pet and given to the patient's family in late January 2007. After the death of the infant, laboratory testing of the turtle and its environment was performed by the Florida Bureau of Laboratories. A fecal sample from the turtle yielded S. Pomona>> I am a father and a herp lover. But if I had to choose, I would obviously choose a healthy, live daughter over any herp. What needs to happen is the herp community needs to pull together and focus on eliminating the ignorant (or just plain stupid) herp sellers who sell unhealthy animals to anyone who'll buy them, and don't give them a single bit of husbandry information, let alone stress the relative SERIOUSNESS of salmonella. If I lost my child to salmonella because some pet store employee failed to mention that little fact, I don't think there would be an apology big enough by anyone to make it better. Yes, the turtle industry is motivated by very self-serving goals, because the Louisiana senators were SURE that the bill would pass based on the new salmonella reducing techniquest developed. But they only work if they are used, and someone makes sure they are done, and done correctly (and even then, the risk is still present, although lowered significantly). But the recent outbreak of Salmonella affecting hundreds of children in four states may derail that. If the herp community wants to keep doing the work with the animals they love, they MUST do whatever is necessary to stop dishonest and unethical reptile dealers and petstores, educate the public and the government on the risks of salmonella and prove that they can help prevent it, and stop living in a self-motivated bubble. Because that bubble seems very likely to pop someday. Dr. Anole Yes, this bill was poorly thought out and really the turtle-breeders knee-jerk response to an LSU veterinarian’s great study on decreasing salmonella prevalence by treating eggs.
Is it fair that turtles are singled out by the federal ban? Maybe. But remember this ban was in response to children getting salmonella and sometimes, dying from it. Let me repeat that. Dying from it. 3 week old babies and 3 year old toddlers dying. Parents losing their children for no other reason than the petstore was more interested in selling the turtles than protecting the public health. And the ban DID decrease the incidence of human salmonella from reptiles. So it worked at least partially.
Until now. The so-called “educational” loophole put a FATAL flaw into the turtle ban so that any simpleton could put a sign next to their turtles saying “For Educational Use Only” and sell them to anyone, whether they read the sign or not.
And unfortunately, the truth is that salmonella is still being spread from the OTHER herps, sold by petstores and unethical private individuals at reptile swaps, to kids. And still, the kids are still sometimes dying (do a search on CDC and reptiles, you’ll find many cases. Here’s a recent one:

>>On February 20, 2007, a female infant aged 3 weeks with a 1-day history of poor feeding and lethargy was evaluated in an emergency department at a Florida hospital. The patient was transferred immediately to a tertiary-care pediatric hospital; on arrival, she was febrile and in septic shock. Antibiotics were administered. She died on March 1. Cultures of cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples yielded Salmonella serotype Pomona.

The parents of the patient were interviewed by the Florida Department of Health. A family friend had purchased a small turtle with a carapace of 1.25 inches from a flea market in north central Florida in mid-November 2006. The turtle was purchased as a pet and given to the patient’s family in late January 2007. After the death of the infant, laboratory testing of the turtle and its environment was performed by the Florida Bureau of Laboratories. A fecal sample from the turtle yielded S. Pomona>>

I am a father and a herp lover. But if I had to choose, I would obviously choose a healthy, live daughter over any herp.

What needs to happen is the herp community needs to pull together and focus on eliminating the ignorant (or just plain stupid) herp sellers who sell unhealthy animals to anyone who’ll buy them, and don’t give them a single bit of husbandry information, let alone stress the relative SERIOUSNESS of salmonella. If I lost my child to salmonella because some pet store employee failed to mention that little fact, I don’t think there would be an apology big enough by anyone to make it better.

Yes, the turtle industry is motivated by very self-serving goals, because the Louisiana senators were SURE that the bill would pass based on the new salmonella reducing techniquest developed. But they only work if they are used, and someone makes sure they are done, and done correctly (and even then, the risk is still present, although lowered significantly). But the recent outbreak of Salmonella affecting hundreds of children in four states may derail that.

If the herp community wants to keep doing the work with the animals they love, they MUST do whatever is necessary to stop dishonest and unethical reptile dealers and petstores, educate the public and the government on the risks of salmonella and prove that they can help prevent it, and stop living in a self-motivated bubble. Because that bubble seems very likely to pop someday.

Dr. Anole

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