Some of us are old enough to remember going to the dime store and coming home with a freshly hatched turtle. Some of us might have even found an ad in the newspaper and ordered one via the US Mail. In 1975 that practice immediately ceased. A new law required commercially sold tortoises and turtles to be 4 inches in length at the carapace. This law still stands today.
Why would the government care about limiting the size of tortoises and turtles? Salmonella is one reason. This law came to being during the height of the country's "Salmonella Scare." The FDA was concerned about small children putting baby turtles and tortoises into their mouths and contracting the disease. As one of the ads above suggests, 1000s of turtles were being imported with little to no control and ending up as pets of small children (who might put them in their mouths.) You may wonder how individuals/hobbyists are able to sell hatchlings and torts/turtles under 4 inches. The regulations specifically exclude sales not in relation to a business; most private party sales of surplus hobbyist stock are unaffected by this law. There is also a provision which excludes sales for "bona fide scientific, educational or exhibitional purposes, other than use as pets." The rule has spawned some unintentional consequences, however. It has discouraged commercial breeding efforts of rare species by hampering trade of juvenile animals. It has increased pressure as food and "medicine" from Asian markets. Also, if you've been paying attention to the tortoise trade in the "big box" pet stores, Russian Tortoises are becoming more difficult to find. When you do, most barely meet the 4 inch rule. Why do you think that is? Most larger tortoises have already been plucked from their homes, shoved in crates and shipped outside of their homeland into the pet trade. With fewer breeding size tortoises in the wild, what is happening with the species as a whole? These are just a few things to ponder. Read more about the law here: 4 inch rule
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AuthorThe Tort Resort is a Whidbey Island based project dedicated to rescue and rehab of smaller tortoise species. Archives
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