SUN-SENTINEL (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 05 July 08 Hollywood-based firm accused of improper turtle sales (Vanessa Blum)

There's a new salmonella threat in South Florida and this time it's tiny turtles, not tomatoes.

Federal prosecutor Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald filed misdemeanor charges last week against a Hollywood-based reptile business. The business is accused of violating a public health law banning the sale of turtles with shells less than 4 inches long.

Strictly Reptiles, which claims to be the nation's largest wildlife importer/exporter, illegally supplied 400 undersized Mississippi map turtles and 600 Yellow-bellied sliders that turned up for sale at flea markets, kiosks and pet stores, prosecutors allege.

Congress enacted the ban in 1975, after public health investigations identified small turtles as a major source of human salmonella infections, particularly in children who liked to put the critters in their mouths.

A 2008 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tied a multi-state salmonella outbreak in 2007 and 2008 to exposure to small turtles. None of the 103 reported cases occurred in Florida.

"Prohibiting the sale and distribution of small turtles likely remains the most effective public health action to prevent turtle-associated salmonellosis," the report concluded.

Attorney Edward Carhart, who represents Strictly Reptiles, said the firm would likely plead guilty and pay a $5,000 fine rather than fight the charge. The company also has agreed to provide future purchasers of baby turtles with leaflets explaining the law, Carhart said.

Owner Michael Van Nostrand tried to comply with the law with store signs and printed warnings that the turtles could be used lawfully only for educational, scientific or exhibition purposes, Carhart said. The company mainly does business with other dealers and hobbyists.

During the investigation, federal agents seized about 7,000 turtles from Van Nostrand's warehouse, Carhart said. Van Nostrand could not be reached for comment.

It's not the first time Strictly Reptiles has landed in the cross hairs of Watts-Fitzgerald, a veteran federal prosecutor in charge of environmental enforcement for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In 1998, the company temporarily lost its license to import wildlife after Van Nostrand pleaded guilty to buying Argentine and Indonesian reptiles worth more than $350,000 that were illegally smuggled into the United States.

Van Nostrand served an eight-month prison term and paid $250,000 to the World Wildlife Fund.

Carhart said he thinks Strictly Reptiles is a favorite target because of its size.

"There's no doubt about it." he said. "They decided to make a point and go after the big boy on the block."
Hollywood-based firm accused of improper turtle sales

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