Alberta turtle/tortoise laws

[dutchman]

It's not illegal to sell RES turtles as long as they are over 4 inches. Pet stores don't sell them becouse it doesn't bring a good return for your invested time as it takes RES turtles over a year to get that big. They made the law to keep kids from getting salmonella by handling the turtles and kissing them and not washing hands. Also, you have to keep the water clean which can be alot of work that most people just don't do, which can lead to salmonella. I've done alot of research on RES and breeding and have never seen anything that says they are completely illegal to sell. Also, the laws are aimed at comercial petstores and not private dealers, so you should be able to find some RES turtles to buy if you dig a bit

[FrogO_Oeyes]

Originally Posted by dutchman

It's not illegal to sell RES turtles as long as they are over 4 inches.

False. Both the Alberta Communicable Diseases Regulation and the Alberta Wildlife Regulation have been quoted already, either in this thread or in the main legalities thread. There is NO 4" rule in Alberta - that's an American law. In Alberta, sliders are prohibited from sale, period.

Pet stores don't sell them becouse it doesn't bring a good return for your invested time as it takes RES turtles over a year to get that big.

Where on Earth did you come up with that bogus info?

They made the law to keep kids from getting salmonella by handling the turtles and kissing them and not washing hands.

That's more or less true, which is why you should read the communicable diseases regulation. Note that it's [off the top of my head] dated 1984 for the particular section concerned. At that time, sliders were still commonly included in Pseudemys.

Also, you have to keep the water clean which can be alot of work that most people just don't do, which can lead to salmonella.

While true, that also applies the other couple hundred species which are legal in Alberta.

I've done alot of research on RES and breeding and have never seen anything that says they are completely illegal to sell.

See above. It's also not hard to find the appropriate laws quoted in at least two threads in this forum.
[/quote] Also, the laws are aimed at comercial petstores and not private dealers, so you should be able to find some RES turtles to buy if you dig a bit[/QUOTE]
Not quite. The law is aimed at distribution. Finding a new home for a pet is arguably ok, but the law DOES say "sell". In any case "otherwise distribute" applies equally to "private dealers". The law isn't meant to prohibit possession or ownership [see the wildlife regulation for that], but to prevent an increase in numbers in private hands in Alberta. Regardless of how those numbers are increased.