USDA law question

[roads637]

I recently had to re-home some eastern box turtles and before doing so I read my state laws regarding the sell, possession and collecting this species and I am fine there but I came across this wrote inside the law excerpt "The USDA prohibits the sale of turtles under 4 inches, and state
health laws prohibit the sale of turtles as pets."
Like I said above I had to rehome some box turtles and by some I mean 9. Given all 9 did not belong to me, my wife and I started collecting turtles a few years back and she had her babys and I had mine, we purchased ours from captive breed breeders, I had 4 and my wife had 3, now my step daughter claims 2 more showed up in the habitat but she was only 8 almost nine at the time so I let them stay. They did very well and turned out to be really interesting to watch them do their turtle thing. But unfortunately the place I live in is a #$@%box and we have to move back into an apartment for a wile and I was forced to rehome them because I do not have it in me to put them into a box when they had a big enough habitat to roam around in they could get missing for days with out being seen and a 10x10 pound to get wet in.
anyways I just felt like sharing that....

 

[ascott]

The under 4" I was aware of (kids apparently thought they looked tasty and started sucking on them and got sick from the bacteria? go figure, plus a couple other things ) but I would be curious as to the entire reading of the "turtles cant be sold for pets" part....?

 

[dmmj]

The law was enacted because kids were handling them and then putting their hands in their mouths and getting sick, very few if any kids If I remember correctly were actually putting them in their mouths ( of course anyone who remembers the book "super fudge" portrays that action quite well in the book), but politicians being the brilliant creatures they are, decided that if a turtle or tortoise was 4 inches or bigger than they could not put them in their mouths, not realizing that it was the hands being put in their mouths that was really making kids sick. see most kids I know don't like to wash their hands so when they would handle a tortoise or turtle they would then proceed to stick their hands in their mouths. Now turtles or tortoise can't be sold as pets by a business, but they can be sold for scientific or educational purposes. And of course breeders can sell them for what ever purpose they choose. It is a dumb law, and it does not prevent the reason it was enacted, but hey politician know better than us, so therefore they know what is best for us (laying on sarcasm heavily)

 

[TortieLuver]

Yep, Dmmj said it exactly. If you need to re-home your turtles/tortoises that were/are your pets, it does not apply to you (businesses apply).

 

[roads637]

I found the info at http://www.ncparc.org/WG-PTR/FAQ_SB285.pdf and the nc wildlife site

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I did not tell yall that when fed-ex delivered the turtles they showed up with the wildlife commission and they made the guy i sent them to open the box so they could get pictures of the turtle and then they called the NC wildlife commission and text them the pictures to make sure we didnt break any laws.

The under 4" I was aware of (kids apparently thought they looked tasty and started sucking on them and got sick from the bacteria? go figure, plus a couple other things ) but I would be curious as to the entire reading of the "turtles cant be sold for pets" part....?

 

[yagyujubei]

The 4" law was made to stop the millions of red ears sold to kids in the sixties and seventies for about a quarter each. I would have to guess that nearly all died within a couple of months. Parents didn''t supervise kids back then like nowadays. Imagine millions of kids with their hands in dirty turtle water all the time.

 

[ascott]

way cool.....how FBI like with pictures and inspection and all...