Having dozens of reptile news stories stream into my e-mail daily and having posted them to my web sites for years, you can trust me when I tell you that an absurd number of illegal drug users and dealers also own reptiles, and often, illegally.

But because I don't have a Google Alert set up for "pit bulls," I can't tell you whether more drug busts are associated with reptiles or with pit bulls, so I willfully admit that there's some confirmation bias at play here.

My point is that a lot of us reptile owners get a bad rap because of a few scumbags. And I fear that a recent news story regarding a meth bust might have confused a few people, and I hope the confusion isn't widespread. I hope to clear up any existing confusion right here.

The story in question is about Teri Lynn Peveto of Murchison, TX. She lives in a gated community of 300 houses that "isn't breaking the half-a-million-dollar mark on home prices," but I guarantee you that in east Texas any community sporting houses over $400k is a nice community. She is known as the "Turtle Lady" because she takes in and rehabilitates box turtles in need. And she has just been arrested for meth possession. (A house fire several years ago, the article implies, might be associated with meth as well.) Well, we all have our demons. No turtles were found in the home. I thank her for any box turtles she lovingly assisted.

My concern regards the legacy of Ila Loetscher, the original "Turtle Lady," who as far as I am aware was never involved in a drug bust. Iowa-raised Loetscher moved to Texas after her husband died in 1955 and devoted the remaining four decades of her life to the cause of sea turtle conservation. During the sixties, Ila spent her energies gathering Kemp's Ridley sea turtle eggs in Mexico and protecting them in South Padre Island until they hatched and went to sea. In the seventies she founded Sea Turtle, Inc., to educate the public and get adults and children involved in sea turtle conservation. She is largely responsible for the substantial comeback of the Kemp's Ridley, and the links below describe her contributions better than I ever can. Ila is the original, the quintessential Turtle Lady, and always will be. RIP Ila, 1904-2000.

The Turtle Lady Legacy
Sea Turtle, Inc.
The Turtle Lady: IIa Fox Loetscher of South Padre
Ila Loetscher, 1905-2000 - Beloved Turtle Hugger of Texas
Ila Loetscher - Wikipedia

I shouldn't mention here that Ila Loetscher was born in Callender, Iowa, and Teri Lynn Peveto lived in a community called Callender Lake, so as to not add to any confusion.

It turns out that if you search YouTube for "hungry turtle," you don't get hours of endless entertainment, like this:

Most of it is laborious, slow-eatin' action, like this:

The moment you've been waiting for since last Monday! Turtle and tortoise news from around the world. Enjoy.

01/07/2008 - Turtle Conservation in Solomon Islands
01/06/2008 - Charlotte County, FWC officials search for possibly buried tortoise
01/06/2008 - Gopher tortoises may cost developers in Lee County
01/05/2008 - Remains of rare turtle discovered in Central China
01/05/2008 - Chinese man pleads guilty to turtle-shell smuggling
01/05/2008 - County, FWC officials search for possibly buried tortoise
01/04/2008 - She'll be right on the reef
01/04/2008 - Chinese national pleads guilty to smuggling protected sea turtles
01/04/2008 - 100-million-year-old turtle remains discovered in Henan
01/04/2008 - Man pleads guilty to smuggling sea turtle shell
01/04/2008 - Gulf World Rescues Turtles
01/03/2008 - Area sees hike in sea turtle deaths
01/03/2008 - Rare turtle found in Gearhart
01/02/2008 - Tortoise worth £1,000 stolen from pet shop
01/02/2008 - Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle faces extinction unless shifted to other habitable areas
01/02/2008 - Green turtle freed on Zamboanga coast
01/02/2008 - Nearly 25,000 hatchlings recorded
01/02/2008 - Common practice saved turtle hatchlings: expert
01/02/2008 - Loggerhead's 25-year journey inspires film crew
01/02/2008 - Three die after sea turtle meal
01/02/2008 - Turtles have bacteria, don't make safe pets
01/01/2008 - TORTOISE SWIPED
01/01/2008 - Kenya: People Saving the Turtle
01/01/2008 - Federal Fisheries Service to Study Critical Habitat Designation for Endangered Leatherback Sea Turtle

Of all the things to come out of the farm bill.

I didn't even know this item was on the table.

Since 1975, the sale of turtles under 10.2cm in length (about 4 inches) has been illegal. This "4-inch law" was enacted, they've always said, to prevent children from contracting salmonella from their cute little pet turtles. We all know that children put everything in their mouths that will fit -- and some things that won't! So the government stepped in, as they are wont to do, to keep children safe from these few-inch-long shelled beasts.

It turns out there are many other good reasons, to the conscientious animal lover, why the 4-inch law should be in place. I personally believe that the pet market is and has been oversaturated with reptiles as long as I've been paying attention to it, as I personally have seen countless reptiles die in captivity due to improper care. Although as a rule I am against "government interference," any law limiting or tracking reptiles kept in captivity is usually a law I will support. I'm sorry, my wealth of reptile-keeping friends, I know you are competent to care for your animals, but most people are not. I have to support laws that protect animals from human stupidity, ignorance, and bad behavior.

But back to the farm bill. Due to my own ignorance, I had been concentrating on the subsidizing of high fructose corn syrup when the farm bill came up for debate last year, and did not even realize that the 4-inch law was on the bill and in danger of repeal.

It was repealed.

You may now purchase turtles of any size from turtle farmers right here in the U.S.

Not that any extra attention paid to this law would have made a difference. The whole corn subsidization issue receives more attention every year the farm bill is up for renewal, and no changes have yet come about with regard to that, either.

So run out and buy your tiny turtles while you can. The rumor mill says that this repeal may be reversed. Get 'em while they're small!

Please see the update on this issue for corrected information.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center's own blog alerted me to their new sea turtle adoption program. From their web site:

"Now you can 'adopt a turtle,' and for only $50, you can contribute to that turtle's rehabilitation. When that turtle is released, you will be able to track the turtle online and know that you helped to make him/her healthy enough to go back home! Or, you can adopt a turtle that has already been released, helping to pay for the research we are conducting so we can help sea turtles all over the world!"

This sounds like a great way to raise money for the GSTC. Their main mission is to treat sea turtles that get stranded along the Georgia coast; their center on Jekyll Island provides cutting edge care for turtles and also serves as a research and education center.

Get all the details on the Georgia Sea Turtle Center's web site.

Turtles All The Way Down is considering an adoption ... we'll see if we have room in the offspring budget and let you know what happens.

On Tuesday I blogged about the repeal of the so-called 4-inch law. I read in the Natchez Democrat that as part of the farm bill changes, the law banning the sale of turtles under 4 inches in length had been repealed.

The Democrat today states that the article was incorrect.

In fact, it's much more complicated than that, and much more important. The “Domestic Pet Turtle Equality Act” is an amendment to the farm bill that was added in the Senate, and has yet to make its way to the President for signing. It first needs to be worked over by a Senate-House committee. According to the article:

"If the amendment survives the committee and the president signs the bill, within 60 days the Food and Drug Administration will be required to test all of the salmonella-related pets on the market.

If pet turtles test within a 10 percent prevalence of salmonella among the other animals, the Secretary of Agriculture will have to conduct a study about how turtles can be sold safely as pets.

Once that study is competed, the Secretary of Agriculture has only two options, to either lift the turtle ban or to ban the sale of other salmonella-related animals."

I'll keep on this and report what I learn.

New Zealand residents take notice when they see a red-eared slider on a riverbank.

Here in the United States there are a set of animals that you normally see. This varies by region, but we have pigeons, squirrels, chipmunks, innumerable varieties of birds, and in these parts there are the less-seen but ever-present raccoons, opossums, and even coyotes. These animals are all wild.

But visit a stream or a pond in a business park and you also see turtles. Usually, red-eared sliders. Of course they are native to the United States, but to a specific area: along the Mississippi and generally in the southeast part of the country. They do not naturally reside in Chicago, or New York, or the Bay Area. But if you've seen many man-made ponds or water retaining structures, or hiked along many rivers in the north, you've seen red-eared sliders far, far from home. Popular in the pet trade, you've also seen them in pet stores. But no businesses are running to pet stores to stock their ponds with the turtles; they simply show up.

They usually show up in the hands of their owners who release them into the wild. People tire of the care their pets require, they lose interest, or they realize that their pets have outgrown their aquarium and decide that the wild would be a better, more spacious place for them to live. No pet should ever be released into the wild. Not here in the United States, where red-eared sliders are native, because released pets can introduce unknown organisms into existing wildlife populations and wreak havoc. On a more personal level, an individual pet turtle may never learn how to take care of itself properly in the wild, and die.

And not in New Zealand, where red-eared sliders couldn't be much farther from home. You may not be aware of this, but there is hardly any wildlife native to New Zealand. A few lizards, frogs, and bat species are the only animals that originally lived on land in the country. New Zealand hosts many indigenous birds, many of which have lost their ability to fly since there are no ground-dwelling predators. (Though during my stay in New Zealand, disappointingly, I didn't see even a single kiwi — they and many local birds are nocturnal.) Everything else in New Zealand — the deer, the rats, the sheep, the cattle, the rabbits — have all been introduced by humans. There should be no snakes, no opossums, and no chelonians, so when a passerby sees a red-eared slider on the bank of a river he doesn't dismiss it.

Such was the case when Donatello was found sunbathing in November. A lone turtle on a riverbank, he was captured and delivered to the Department of Conservation. It turns out that New Zealanders don't exactly freak out about the turtles, since the climate is considered too cold for them to breed and eventually destroy the ecosystem. They are available for purchase in pet stores. But they do have an effect on the fish and flora when they are released in the wild, since they do have to eat. Still, the fear seems to be only of what might occur in the case of significant climate change; it wouldn't have to get much warmer in New Zealand for red-eared sliders to take root there. For now, the locals are keeping an eye on the species.

Australians are far less forgiving: red-eared sliders are completely illegal.

You know what time it is: turtle news time! Every Monday we recap the news of the past week. Here's this week's installment.

01/13/2008 - Raising turtles in captivity may help restore numbers
01/13/2008 - 'Pet' turtle at home in church
01/12/2008 - Oh, snap! Time to keep the trappers at bay
01/11/2008 - Turtle travels long way to get help
01/11/2008 - Pet turtle dies pining for beloved owner
01/11/2008 - After slow and steady probe, alleged tortoise smuggler caught
01/11/2008 - Chinese Smugglers Caught With Endangered Sea Turtle Shell
01/10/2008 - Shire takes legal action over turtle centre plans
01/10/2008 - Local farmers see ray of hope in domestic pet turtle act
01/10/2008 - Endangered status an advantage to turtle traders
01/10/2008 - Chico Man Accused Of Illegal Tortoise Trading
01/10/2008 - Mural unveiled at turtle museum’s Grand Hatching
01/10/2008 - Officials allege Chicoan conspired with 'Turtle Man' on tortoise smuggling
01/10/2008 - Indonesia cited for allowing illegal turtle sales
01/09/2008 - TDC Still Waiting for Response on Sea Turtle Lighting
01/09/2008 - Turtle tug-of-war heading to court
01/09/2008 - Red-bellied turtle may slow casino
01/09/2008 - Is red-eared slider turtle smaller than 4 inches? In July, it'll be illegal to own
01/08/2008 - Indonesia cited for allowing illegal turtle sales
01/08/2008 - Concern for turtle may slow SugarHouse work
01/08/2008 - Endangered sea turtle found off Batangas coastal town
01/08/2008 - Report highlights Indonesia's illegal freshwater turtle trade
01/08/2008 - Beach plea after rare turtles die
01/08/2008 - Rare turtles washed up on beaches

Turtles may not be cuddly, but c'mon, they're cute. Adorable slowcoaches with elephant feet, destined to lose each and every race, retractable heads cute as a button.

If you think that's the case, you haven't met Snappy! First spotted some 17 years ago in a Caldicot Country Park pond in South Wales, this snapping turtle has spent the past couple decades on the lam devouring fish, ducks, and whatever else he can catch.

The killer turtle has recently been caught, and he has been moved to the Tortoise Trust rescue sanctuary in west Wales.

It's hard for me to believe he weighs only 20 pounds, but regardless, a duck is no match for that.

This is another prime example of what happens when pet turtles are discarded into the wild. Yes, Snappy must have been a pet, since snapping turtles are native to North America.

The World Wildlife Fund has reported that the less plentiful a species of turtle, the more money a pet dealer can charge for it. The more illegal it is to obtain and/or sell, the more lucrative.

I'd really like to expound here, but I'm not sure what to say. Is there anything left to say, really?

Really?

Here's a summary of this particular money making process, in case the idea is new to you (and in which case, good on you, you've never heard of drugs):

1. Outlaw the sale of an item
2. Sell the item
3. PROFIT!

Plenty Magazine's Extinction Blog has also picked up on this, and as the blog states, capitalism is alive and well. As I always state, hallelujah for that. But this isn't capitalism; this is illegal animal trade. These are individuals who have no empathy for animals, wildlife, our ecosystem. This is purely selfish illegal animal exploitation. And it's bad.

Hatch a leopard tortoise in your basement and sell it for as much as the market will bear, please! That's capitalism. I like expensive things. Fewer people own expensive things. But catch and sell a turtle listed on CITES Appendix I and you should not pass go nor collect $200; you should go directly to jail. Come on, people, we have laws for a reason. There are ways to get by that don't involve disrupting our ecosystem.

I've been turtling all week long ... collecting turtle news, that is ... and here is my bounty. Enjoy!

01/21/2008 - Turtle population under threat
01/21/2008 - Work of J. Nichols '89 to Save Sea Turtles Produces Results, Reports San Diego Union-Tribune
01/20/2008 - Turtle could throw wrench in casino plans
01/20/2008 - Why don’t turtles cross the road?
01/19/2008 - Subdivision meets major obstacles in trees, tortoises
01/19/2008 - Framingham teachers headed to Costa Rica
01/19/2008 - Endangered turtle could put snag in resort casino project
01/18/2008 - Cute turtle a real terminator
01/18/2008 - Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Protected Sea Turtles
01/18/2008 - Illegal turtle trade thriving - report
01/18/2008 - Biosecurity takes Currumbin Valley turtle
01/18/2008 - Too late for Leatherback but hope for Green, Hawksbill turtles
01/17/2008 - Turtle in safe hands
01/17/2008 - Varanasi boatmen on indefinite strike against tortoise zone entry tax
01/17/2008 - Recovered turtles return to sea
01/17/2008 - After red tide's toll, sea turtles return to Brevard County beach
01/17/2008 - American turtle threatens wildlife
01/17/2008 - Buddie Boogies Back Into The Briny Blue
01/17/2008 - Gators and turtles dive into Georgia Aquarium
01/16/2008 - Turtle alert for beach walkers
01/16/2008 - Sea Turtles Released After Rehabilitation From Red Tide Ailments
01/15/2008 - Endangered Turtles Bring Higher Profits for Pet Dealers

I predict this is going to be one of the next reptilian news trends.

I closely follow current events of reptiles and amphibians via dozens of Google Alerts that magically appear in my inbox daily. So I'm up on what's up in the herp world. For a long time, the newspapers had a lot to say about burying gopher tortoises alive. Then they had a lot to say about restricting the practice of burying gopher tortoises alive. Then there was the massive Australian cane toad invasion. Then we had the out-of-control iguana population in many Florida locales. This winter we have those iguanas falling out of trees.

Just bubbling to the surface recently is the story of the red-eared slider becoming the next cane toad in Australia. Just the other day I reported on red eared sliders in New Zealand, and as a footnote I stated that the species is outlawed in Australia. Apparently the slider has become a serious problem in Australia, where it can live and breed and has few predators. (The article cites two predators: foxes and goannas (monitor lizards).) In Australia you can't own red-eareds as pets, and they are certainly not allowed in the wild. They really aren't welcome anywhere. The turtle discussed in the article is to be euthanized.

It is rather important that they keep the sliders under control while they can, if possible. Otherwise they may compete too fiercely with Australian turtles and other water-dwellers for food. They really don't need another animal like the cane toad taking over the country. I predict that we'll be seeing more of the red-eared slider in the news before we see less of it, but I do hope that it doesn't wreak too much havoc.

There is a lot of blogworthy turtle news today, but I think this story wins.

Under pressure from conservationists, Cuba's Fisheries Ministry has finally banned the harvest of marine turtles along its beaches and in its waters. This is especially good news for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle. Until now, Cuba has been able to legally take 500 hawksbill turtles each year for their business of shell export. All marine turtles that swim Cuban waters will benefit from this ban, which is to stay in effect until scientific evidence proves that the hawskbill is on the rebound.

Links:
Cuba bans marine turtle hunt
Camagüey takes actions favouring the protection of turtles
Cuba Ends Turtle Hunt-WWF
Cuba bans turtle hunt
Cuba Bans Turtle Hunt to Protect Species

Squishable.com is offering the biggest, snuggliest turtles and tortoises you'll find anywhere. One of these would be a great alternative to having a real tortoise: you don't have to feed it, water it, keep it warm, wet, or dry. And it's HUGE! Visit Squishable.com for all your cuddly turtle needs, and cuddly whale needs, cuddly duck needs, cuddly frog needs, cuddly octopus needs....

It's all yours. I present: turtle news of the last seven days.

01/27/2008 - Third turtle found dead in less than 21 days
01/27/2008 - Helping turtles in difficulty
01/26/2008 - It's not about the speed
01/25/2008 - Olive Ridley rookery turns turtle
01/25/2008 - Endangered leatherback turtle’s epic 12,744-mile migration
01/25/2008 - Dead turtles worry conservationists
01/25/2008 - Scores Of Dead Turtles Washed Up With The Tide
01/25/2008 - CDC: Pet turtles cause multistate Salmonella outbreak
01/25/2008 - UW Vets Perform Surgery On Exotic Tortoise
01/25/2008 - RETTEW Hires Qualified Bog Turtle Surveyor
01/25/2008 - Endangered leatherback turtle's epic 12,744-mile migration
01/24/2008 - Cuba Bans Sea Turtle Hunting
01/24/2008 - Pet Turtles Linked to Rise in Salmonella Infections
01/23/2008 - Gopher tortoise rules still unsettled
01/23/2008 - Cuba bans marine turtle hunt
01/23/2008 - Turning The Tide For Sea Turtles
01/23/2008 - Indigenous turtle conservationists arrive in Mexico
01/23/2008 - Endangered turtle not found on site of planned Middleboro casino
01/22/2008 - Leatherback turtle's 12,744 mile migration
01/22/2008 - Turtle issue a casino killer or just bluff?
01/22/2008 - Loggerhead turtle rescued
01/22/2008 - Turtle Clears A Hurdle At Colorado State Capitol

View this video if only to see the cute tortoise grass-eating shot.