Locals Urged Not To Buy Turtles As Film Looms

August 6, 2014

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is set to be released internationally this week, arousing fears that living turtles could become unwitting victims in the process; the original movie, released in 1990, was associated with a spike in the turtle pet trade and subsequent release of turtles, especially young red-eared sliders, known scientifically as Trachemys scripta elegans, into the wild.

Consequently, the Department of Conservation Services [DoCS] said they would like to urge residents to buy Ninja Turtle action figures and toys instead of live turtles for their children.

A statement issued recently by the American Tortoise Rescue echoed these sentiments, saying, “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.”

Official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trailer:

Additionally, turtles carry salmonella which can make a child very sick – sometimes leading to death.

“It is currently not illegal to sell or be in possession of red-eared sliders in Bermuda, but it is illegal to abandon them as per the Care and Protection of Animals Act [1975],” explained Wildlife Ecologist Mark Outerbridge.

“Furthermore, the Department of Conservation Services encourages the public to drop off unwanted sliders at the aquarium rather than release them into the wild.

“There are thousands of red-eared sliders already living in fresh water ponds across Bermuda, but there is great concern that one day someone will release a diseased pet slider into our environment which will then pass on that disease to our very fragile population of native diamondback terrapins.

“This scenario has already happened with other turtle species overseas.”

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Category: All, Entertainment, Environment, Films/Movies, News

Comments (19)

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  1. KidsAreDumb says:

    HA!

    • Kunta says:

      Ok , so don’t show movies that promote guns and violence !!!!!!!!!
      LMFAO

    • Vascola says:

      Calm TFD, turtles make great pets, I had several growing up. And great soup!

      More important things…next!!

    • Come Correct says:

      If I want to go to the pet store, buy a Japanese rat and four turtles, name the turtles after four renaissance artists, teach the rat ninjitsu to later teach the turtles, throw them all down a storm drain followed by radioactive toxic waste to age them into their teens and give them the muscular structure of a human…there isn’t one piece of legislation to stop me and I will continue to be a responsible pet owner by continuously feeding them pizza.

      • Come Correct says:

        Whoever disliked my completely sarcastic yet accurate(according to the story) comment was clearly bottle fed as a child and never fully developed a sense of humor.

  2. yamon says:

    The solution is for pet companies to not bring them in or sell them.

    • PBanks says:

      Maybe, but is it the responsibility of a pet store to limit supply if the demand is high for these animals, or should the onus be on the people purchasing animals to not treat them like some quick-flash fad and discard them once it’s no longer cool to own them?

  3. Tylar says:

    “Unfortunately, children do not realize that real turtles do not fly, perform stunts or do any of the exciting moves fictional movie turtles do.”

    Too funny hahaha! Why isn’t there a warning about old rats being Splinter btw?

    At least kids are still using their imagination nowadays.

    • PBanks says:

      Look at the source of the quote, it was from an American group.

      Where everything must have the required disclaimers on it because there’s always somebody without enough common sense to think otherwise, and turn around and sue somebody for it :-)

  4. Shakingmyhead says:

    Where was this helpfull advice for parents when “Air Bud” came out. Image how disappointed my child was when we brought a dog home and he didn’t talk or play basketball. That sucker didn’t last a week in our house before we shipped it back

    • YADON says:

      If you don’t teach your children what they see on TV is FAKE I’m afraid you have a lot more problems to worry about. I’m disgusted you would do that to a dog.

      • PBanks says:

        I’m pretty sure Shakingmyhead was being sarcastic about his kid expecting a dog to talk and shipping it back the same week.

  5. Still Laughing says:

    I have a huge problem with this. I get that it’s great for kids to let their imagination run wild, but at the end of the day, it’s the parents’ responsibility to remind kids that what they saw on the screen is purely fiction and animals cannot do all that. If a kid insists of having a pet of any kind, parents should seriously look into the level of care one needs and if the entire family can commit to such care. If not, sorry but no pet as dumping them is cruel and in my opinion, such offenders should be fined big time!

  6. YADON says:

    I really believe a special permit system is needed. It’s crazy we can bring in the red eared sliders but can’t bring in salt water fish, even native ones. There are responsible aquarists out here that can be responsible. Stop making the innocent suffer for the guilty. Exotic animals should be available to those of us educated enough to keep them safely. They should be microchipped and closely tracked by government to ensure every animal is accounted for. Anyone who loses an animal should be punished severely and banned from future ownership.

  7. BlueFamiliar says:

    Let’s go with a basic, when you are considering a pet for your household, be prepared to teach your children the proper way to treat the animal and to constantly monitor younger children when they interact with the animal, and remember that you are responsible for that animal’s health and welfare for the duration of their life.

    If you are not prepared to learn about the animal and care for it properly for years, do not get it. It is not a toy that you can just ignore, break or discard.

  8. Sam says:

    Why are they talking about this. The movie is in PG-13 and if kids goes to see the movie, they go with adult. So there should be no problem.

    • PBanks says:

      Even so, the precedent has already been set. When the first TMNT came out, turtle sales spiked. When Finding Nemo came out, everybody wanted clownfish.

      Besides, just because the movie’s PG-13, doesn’t mean kids are going to attend with an adult “who’ll advise them that turtles are a serious commitment” or whatever. Kids can go as part of a summer camp trip or with an older ‘adult’ who isn’t going to be concerned if the kids start saying they want to buy a bunch of turtles.

  9. Next says:

    Is this a joke? You gotta be kidding me. I was a big fan of the Ninja Turtles as a kid and never thought that crap was real or thought to get a real turtle.

  10. Sarcasm at it's best... says:

    I brought me a an 18 wheeler and it’s still sitting in my yard. Darn thing never changed into Optimus Prime. I was duped!! SMH!!