One more....
Turtle farmers take fight to the halls of Congress
By Bill Walsh
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON -- Americans cheer for sports teams named after turtles, watch feature-length movies and cartoons starring turtles and in some parts of the Midwest, actually race turtles. They just can't buy them at the pet store.
A ban by the Food and Drug Administration 32 years ago outlawed the sale of baby turtles as pets once believed responsible for a quarter-million cases of salmonella poisoning annually.
But Louisiana turtle farmers, whose once-bustling foreign markets are now all but shut off to them, are leading a charge up Capitol Hill to lift the ban that they say unfairly stymies their livelihood.
"Lizards, geckos -- they have salmonella and you can buy those in a pet store," said Phyllis Hamilton, co-owner of Golden Baby Turtles Inc. in Monterey, a tiny community in rural east-central Louisiana. "It's discrimination totally against the baby turtle."
The FDA has remained firm, however, routinely issuing health alerts about the dangers of keeping pet turtles, especially small ones that children may stick in their mouths. In April, the FDA warned about a resurgence in illicit turtle sales and cited the death of a 4-week-old child in Florida from turtle-related salmonella as its most recent justification for upholding the ban.
Most, if not all, reptiles carry salmonella in their intestinal tracts and pass it through their feces. The bacteria can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea and fever in healthy people, and can be deadly for those with vulnerable immune systems.
One for the farmers
After years of lobbying, the turtle farmers scored a breakthrough last week when the Senate unanimously accepted an amendment by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., to a drug regulation bill that would ease the 1975 ban on the sale of turtle eggs and babies with shells smaller than 4 inches.
Landrieu's legislation would require states to regulate the care, breeding and sale of turtles and force retailers to disclose the potential danger of salmonella. Her Louisiana colleague, Republican Sen. David Vitter, who offered his own proposal, has estimated that domestic turtle sales could be a $300 million-a-year business for the state.
Landrieu said she is confident that scientific advances in reducing salmonella in baby turtles during the past three decades have all but eliminated the threat to public health.
"The science and technology have caught up with the problem," she said. "I believe the safeguards are in place."
The Senate passed the drug regulation bill last week but the issue has not yet advanced in the House, where animal-rights groups such as the Humane Society of the United States are expected to oppose it. Still, the Senate victory was the first sign of momentum the turtle farmers have seen in more than a generation. And it comes at a difficult time.
The global market
When their product was banned domestically, turtle farmers turned to the international market. They looked to Europe and Asia, especially China, where high demand had almost wiped out some native species.
Turtle meat, a niche menu offering in the United States, is popular in Asia, and shells have long been used for medicinal purposes. Turtle eggs are much sought after for their supposed value as an aphrodisiac. Additionally, the tortoise occupies a sacred spot in Chinese mythology, representing longevity. One placed in the home is said to attract good fortune.
International sales certainly brought good fortune to Louisiana turtle farmers, who reside in some of the most rural, poverty-stricken areas of the state. Louisiana's warm, wet climate has made the state the nation's turtle-breeding ground. The LSU AgCenter reported that in 2005 there were 60 commercial farms producing 10 million turtles annually, nearly all for export.
Farmers fading fast
Three years ago, a popular local variety known as the red-eared slider sold on the Asian market for more than $1 apiece.
Then the bottom dropped out. Some U.S. farmers say that the Chinese colluded to force the price down. Others say the Chinese finally succeeded in raising their own crops of red-eared sliders. Whatever the case, the price began to plummet. Now, U.S. farmers are lucky to get 30 cents each.
"In two or three years, 85 percent of the turtle farmers will be gone. They can't hold on any longer," said Keith Boudreaux, whose Tangi Turtle Farm in Ponchatoula has been in the family for three generations.
Boudreaux concedes that in the 1970s, "People were farming in unclean situations." But, he said, much has changed.
Thirty years ago LSU immunologist Ronald Siebeling, a man of almost mythic proportions in the world of turtle farming, came up with a treatment aimed at preventing the salmonella bacteria from forming in baby turtles. Turtle farmers began using it right away. At the same time, the Louisiana Legislature began requiring annual inspections of turtle farms and testing of hatchlings at FDA-approved laboratories.
No guarantees
Siebeling died in 2002, but his work was carried on at LSU by Mark Mitchell, a veterinarian and epidemiologist.
Mitchell developed an egg wash and habitat treatment that he said reduced the likelihood of salmonella to less than 1 percent. In October, he took his findings to the FDA where he thought the scientists seemed impressed. He said he was stunned when he got a follow-up e-mail message saying that the ban would remain in force.
"Either they have short memories or they are bad scientists," he said.
Mitchell said the FDA doesn't merely want assurances that turtles sold at pet stores will be free of salmonella. They want a guarantee, he said, that the turtles will never develop it; they want a salmonella-proof turtle.
"It's impossible. You can't develop immunity," Mitchell said.
The FDA declined to comment for this story. After tainted spinach was yanked off grocery shelves last year and pet food this year, the agency has been under pressure to tighten, not loosen, safety regulations.
Blaming the lizards
Hamilton, the turtle farmer in Monterey, suspects that lizard breeders are applying political pressure behind the scenes. She points out that lizards, snakes and frogs can all carry salmonella but are allowed for sale in every corner pet store, while turtles remain banned.
"Somebody is influencing this," she said. "I don't know if it is others who sell reptiles, because I'm telling you, if the choice is between a lizard and a baby turtle, a kid will pick a turtle."
Reptile breeders call the allegations ludicrous. They say that turtles were singled out in the 1970s because they were such common household pets and known carriers of salmonella. Exotic lizards would only later gain popularity and because they frequently live in dry habitats, unlike turtles, have less of a chance of collecting bacteria.
"Honestly, the lizard people, especially the gecko people, are so focused on their own stuff, they probably don't consider the turtle people competition," said Larry Boyle, manager of Tim Tytle Lizards, a national breeder and dealer based in Oklahoma City. "The question is laughable. It would be better for the entire industry if the turtle people were more involved. The more there are, the better for all of us."
Mitchell, the epidemiologist who has since moved from LSU to the University of Indiana, is most frustrated that the federal government is imposing a standard on turtle safety that he said isn't required on any other consumer product.
"The government needs to play fair," he said. "There are risks associated with everything we do, from purchasing a gun to not preparing food appropriately to owning pet dogs. Parents should make decisions about what risks they are willing to take. This industry has gone above and beyond to make (its) product safe."
http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/200 ... _to_t.html
... "Oh look! There's some lovely filth over here." ). The third world country of Louisiana would have plenty of income then. And they wouldn't have to torture any living creatures to do it! 
