Despite ban, small turtle online pet trade in the US found to be flourishing

Bob Yirka is a research scientist at Phys.org.

There is a thriving online market for hatchling turtles despite the fact that they are not allowed in the U.S.

Turtles were popular as pets in the 1960's and 70's. Research shows that 4% of homes have at least one turtle, and that most of the turtles being sold back then were hatchlings. The arrangement made it possible for buyers to have the turtles for as long as they wanted.

As turtles became more popular, the medical community began to see a lot of cases of disease transfer from turtles to their hosts. The United States banned the sale of small turtles. They wondered if the ban on such sales was preventing hatchlings from being sold in the U.S.

There are 16 websites that sell turtles that are less than four inches in length. Half of those sites failed to warn buyers of the disease risk posed by the purchase of such turtles or failed to mention the laws pertaining to their sale.

There is a thriving online pet trade involving hatchling turtles in the United States. Despite the risks, turtles are still a popular pet. There is an ad hoc enforcement of hatchlings sold. Enforcement of such rules is not a priority for officials due to more pressing wildlife issues.

The online sale of small turtles circumvents public health regulations in the US. The journal was published in October.

Journal information: PLoS ONE

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