Fish & Wildlife euthanizing 1,100 turtles

PENDLETON — Nearly 1,100 exotic pet turtles are being euthanized this week by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife after they tested positive for salmonella.

The red-eared slider turtles were confiscated last month because that species is illegal to own or sell in Oregon.

State Fish & Wildlife employees in Pendleton cared for the turtles for about a month. But the reptiles are now at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where they will be put down by the end of the week, said Kevin Blakely, a manager at the Pendleton Fish & Wildlife office.

Samples taken from the turtles tested positive for salmonella, a bacteria that can cause humans to get diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. A multistate outbreak of pet turtle-related salmonella sickened about 100 people and hospitalized 24 earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Oregon officials couldn't find anywhere to ship the infected turtles for further care. "Our only other option was to humanely dispose of them," Blakely said.

The state confiscated 728 of the red-eared sliders in early September when it learned a Hermiston woman was selling them. Officials said red-eared sliders can force out native species if they are released into the wild.

Federal regulations also prohibit sales of turtles if their shells are less than 4 inches long. The confiscated turtles' shells were about 1 inch.

If they are at least 4 inches in length, red-eared sliders are legal to own in Washington.

As word spread, more people reported owning the banned animals. A Umatilla man turned in an additional 316 turtles, Blakely said.

About 40 more were turned in by residents of the Milton-Freewater and Pilot Rock areas who apparently had bought the turtles from the Umatilla man or the Hermiston woman.

Any other Oregon residents who own the turtles still can turn them over to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife by calling its Pendleton office at 541-276-2344.