A little about the big heartwater scare. Activist groups first implored this attack back in the late 40`s against a big time Florida animal importer. Like salmonella they keep recycling this agenda driven scare tactic against the pet trade. The argument repeatedly fails because they can't produce enough evidence to convince the USDA that they have a valid case.





Amblyomma ticks found on mammals and birds are a known vector .



All testing on Amblyomma ticks species found on reptiles failed to produce a single positive result.



Bird species that migrant from islands where massive out breaks of heartwater have occurred and are proven to be heartwater vectors are protected by Federal law .



Amblyomma ticks are native to the US.



As a result of the inconclusive testing done in the early 2000`s an embargo on the importation of certain African tortoise species was put in place until further testing. We will never see this embargo lifted.



Ernie Eison

WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

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