Every year I like to remind people that they shouldn’t give rabbits as Easter gifts. Instead they should give chocolate rabbits. That is because each year animal shelters across the country receive an abundance of rabbits in the weeks following Easter. Sadly parents and grandparents give the rabbits as Easter gifts not taking into consideration that a rabbit is a living creature and requires daily care just like you would a cat or a dog.
This summer a new live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies will be coming to theaters across the country. I was unaware that the release of the first film back in 1990 resulted in hundreds of thousands of live turtles being purchased as pets. Many people didn’t think their decision through enough and many were killed or released into the wild.
If you have a child or grandchild who is a fan of the popular Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles franchise PLEASE take this open letter from the American Tortoise Rescue to heart.
Dear Parents and Grandparnets:
We’re asking you to save a turtle’s life and perhaps even your child’s.
In August, your children will be enjoying another edition of the extremely popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. This will include a whole new generation of kids who missed the 2007 animated film. It’s fun and great entertainment.
But, we are writing this to ask for your help. Since the first movie was released in 1990, hundreds of thousands of live turtles, mostly water turtles called red eared sliders, were purchased for between $10 and $25 after each ninja movie was released. The result? Many, if not most, were dumped and even deliberately killed or flushed down the toilet. Remember people buying thousands of dogs that ended up in shelters after 101 Dalmatians came me out? Same problem.
Unfortunately, children do not realize that real turtles do not fly, perform stunts or do any of the exciting moves fictional movie turtles do. Parents, trying to please their children, purchased live turtles which ended up languishing in tanks. Or, when the kids realized after a few weeks that these were not ninja turtles, the turtles were dumped illegally into rivers and lakes as well as dumpsters, flushed down toilets or relinquished to shelters and overcrowded rescues. It’s estimated that 90 percent died. As an aside, zoos do not take turtles.
Turtles have been around for 200 million years and outlived the dinosaur. Is this the way we want to treat our precious wildlife? Most of these turtles are taken out of the wild and sold to pet stores, breeders and mercados for profit.
Here’s the bigger problem. Turtles carry salmonella which can make a child very, very sick and can even kill them. That’s why turtles less than four inches were banned from sale in the U.S. in 1974 and still are…tiny turtles easily fit into a child’s mouth. Children also tend to touch the water and don’t wash their hands. It’s an ugly problem. A nine month old baby in Los Angeles got salmonella meningitis from a turtle after its parents touched it and then held the baby. We do not recommend live turtles or tortoises for children under 13 because of salmonella exposure and because the kids lose interest almost immediately.
What can you do to help? Buy Ninja action figures and toys instead of live turtles and save a turtle’s life, and perhaps even your child’s.
Thank you.
Susan Tellem and Marshall Thompson, Co-founders
American Tortoise Rescue
www.tortoise.com @tortoiserescue On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AmericanTortoiseRescue
I have to agree with them. Turtles are a lot of work and can be expensive. My husband and I looked into getting a turtle or two a few years ago. After we learned about the diseases they can carry we decided against it. Not only that the cost to care for them properly can be pricey. For now we’ll stick to enjoying turtles from afar at the lake or the zoo or check them out in the movie theater.
Do you have a pet turtle? I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post. I posted this for the benefit of my site readers. The opinions expressed by the American Tortoise Rescue are not necessarily the same as my own.
Jane (EJ ) says
I have to applaud you for this heartfelt post. I have 4 kids spanning 2 decades. They all love TMNT. Every Sunday morning who’s ever home joins my Little a Girl, for a viewing breakfast party. Truth is back in the late 90’s we inherited a turtle from a family friend. We cared for feed ect. That little turtle Jaws for many years, however he died. I felt aweful & the boys were devastated. Fast forward & can you believe the release date is my Little girls birthday. We are all going to the movie release, yes we will be wearing our eye wraps, she has it all planned. Two weeks ago she very matter of factory announced she wanted a “real” turtle. I didn’t yell or even say “No!” Instead I surprised her with a day at the Bronx Zoo, she was so in awe. I used this as a teach able moment, explaining turtles are a family that need to live in the Marsh at the Zoo, for all of us to go & visit. She totally understood & now I need to renew our Zoo membership.
Jane (EJ ) says
I messed up my email, so sorry
Stephanie Hodges says
We had a turtle when I was younger. My mom wanted us to be taught the value of ownership a step further beyond or cat and dog. My mom would warn us about washing our hands but we didn’t know the dangers that this article discussed about how it could make us sick. Thankfully we never got sick. Unfortunately, we let the turtle graze in our front lawn. I went in the house to go to the bathroom. I came outside and he was gone. The gate was open and our (guard Sheppard) dog was furiously barking. Someone stole him. Ninja turtles was a big hit back then (we had all the decorations in our rooms lol). This article brings back memories of how popular the movie was and the lengths people went to buy or even steal turtles. We never got another turtle. Our neighbor had a very large turtle (very big) and memory is hazy, but think that turtle was like 30 years old. He only let that turtle in their back yard and stayed out to watch it as those sizes where high valued back then. As an adult, we have wild turtles outside. sometimes a large one will makes it way around. I teach my daughter to be careful, respect them and let them be. I often will help them cross the road in the direction they are traveling (a key thing I read to always take them to the area they are facing as that is the direction they will attempt again to go to).