Does the US have different tortoise rules to the UK/Europe?

[HotdogKnight]

I've been on here for a few months now and I noticed a difference between UK/US new owners.

I can almost guarantee a new owner is from the UK because their baby (normally a Russian) is a hatchling/yearling. However in America a lot of people adopt/rescue nearly adult tortoises. We don't see a lot of that in the UK.

Is there a certain legislation that you guys have to abide by? Or is there just a higher amount of rescue torts?

 

[tortdad]

I've been on here for a few months now and I noticed a difference between UK/US new owners.

I can almost guarantee a new owner is from the UK because their baby (normally a Russian) is a hatchling/yearling. However in America a lot of people adopt/rescue nearly adult tortoises. We don't see a lot of that in the UK.

Is there a certain legislation that you guys have to abide by? Or is there just a higher amount of rescue torts?

I'm not sure on the rescues here but most new people buy tortoises I. Let stores and most of them are Russians. Here pet stores sell wild caught Russians that are already adults. A lot of star here have a law that says you cannot sell a tortoise under 4" in length unless it is for educational purposes

 

[Mavrik]

I would say a little bit of both...

I know that in my state specifically (Ohio) there is a law that states you are not allowed to sell turtles and tortoises under 4". It used to be that you could still get them smaller at the reptile shows and expos, but even that is now against the law. Judging by size alone, I would that that 3/4 of the tortoises I've seen at the store are around 2-4yrs old, because like @tortdad stated the stores buy them from wholesale reptile distributors who sell WC adults.

As for the rescues, I believe that people have a problem with impulse buying tortoises (really, almost any animal) -- they see it as small and cute and do not take into account that it will get larger and require more space and all that, so they rescue it. There are plenty of individuals though, who are then more than willing to adopt one of those castoffs. (I myself am the proud "primary foodgiver" of 2 adopted Russians and a rescued Sulcata). I might also have a slightly jaded view on people buying animals at stores, because I worked a pet store for a while and dealt with impulse buys on a daily basis, and ticked off quite a few people when I told them outright NO, I would not be selling them any animal until they could prove to me that they had the understanding of proper care and husbandry (it also helped that management would back me up on that too...)

So overall? I'd say it just has to do with the culture differences between the US and the UK. Although similar, enough of a difference that some things like tortoise ownership would manifest quite differently.

 

[HotdogKnight]

The size law is very strange is it there to protect the tortoises or to protect the people who bring WC to the US?

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't know this to be fact, but I'm guessing that the people in the UK are years ahead of the U.S. in breeding the Russian tortoises.

 

[Yvonne G]

The size law is very strange is it there to protect the tortoises or to protect the people who bring WC to the US?

Back in the (I think) '60's kids would get salmonella poisoning and it was determined (by who???) that a turtle under 4" could fit into a kid's mouth. So now businesses here aren't legally able to sell turtles smaller than 4". Another law instead of encouraging parents to train their children on health issues.

 

[Mavrik]

Actually, I think it pertains more to turtles than tortoises, but do not quote me on that. They just get lumped together for reasons unknown to me.

In my area red-eared sliders are considered an invasive species, having been imported from its original southeastern home range by people who purchased babies down there while on vacation, then come home and release them into the wild when they become too much a hassle to take care of. I think the law is supposed to outlaw this practice, as well as the practice of people removing baby turtles from the wild and trying to make a profit from them.

 

[Mavrik]

Blame the idiot kids with the idiot parents, not the rest of us!

 

[Jacqui]

Blame the idiot kids with the idiot parents, not the rest of us!

That is how the world works though.

 

[dmmj]

Should we teach johnny to wash his hands? nah lets just ban chelonians under 4 inches, problem solved.

 

[Yvonne G]

Better yet, "Should we teach Johnny to not put baby turtles/tortoises into his mouth? Nah...let's just ban chelonians under 4". Problem Solved!!"

 

[dmmj]

Someone is gonna have to straighten johnny out.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, David, the law will for sure straighten him out, dontcha' know.

 

[naturalman91]

Should we teach johnny to wash his hands? nah lets just ban chelonians under 4 inches, problem solved.

i don't know why but as soon as i read this i thought of leave it to beaver lol

 

[Lyn W]

Maybe its just that babies are cute so people in UK (and possibly everywhere else) go for those. It's also easier to house them when they are little as there are ready made tort tables, vivs etc. that can be bought with minimum effort, whereas a bigger tort needs space and bigger enclosures etc, which aren't easy to find. Also it could be that perhaps people just don't know about rehoming centres in the UK. I now know of a few organisations that rehome tortoises - Tortoise Trust, British Association of Tortoise Keepers (BATK) in Lemmington Spa and local tortoise groups, like the Leicester Group, but I had no idea any of them existed before Lola was found and I was trying to find her a good home - that is before I fell head over heels and decided to keep her!

 

[tglazie]

The four inch law is definitely the biggest reason for this UK/US difference. It's lousy, because all this incredibly idiotic law encourages is the harvesting of wild turtle and tortoise populations to meet demands for the pet trade. The law is also applied inconsistently, often only applied by petty bureaucrats looking to make an example of turtle and tortoise breeders at expos engaging in an activity that is hurting no one. Luckily, I've never seen these petty tyrants engaging in these sorts of raids on expos here in Texas, but I've heard many of my California friends complaining about the overreach of these government parasites. It is rather sad, the sheer incompetence of lawmakers in this country, and those unaccustomed to it may find it difficult to cope with the utter wrongheadedness of it all. But I've gotta say, I'm a very cynical person, so I always bet that if there's some problem politicians are attempting to tackle with legislation, those politicians will go about addressing this problem in the most incompetent way possible, engaging in a level of buffoonery that would make an episode of Jersey Shore look like Masterpiece Theater by comparison. If I prognosticate this way, I usually find I'm rarely disappointed, in my prognostications anyway.

T.G.

 

[Jacqui]

There are other laws that differ, to me, being a hingeback person your laws allow more leeway then ours here do. Oh what I would give for the USA to have your laws on importation of hingebacks.