The U.S. Senate has passed S. 1082, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Revitalization Act, which includes an amendment to lift a 1975 ban on selling baby turtles in pet shops. The amendment was introduced by Sen. Mary Landrieu from Louisiana, a state with a large stake in the pet turtle industry. The House is expected to consider the measure in June.

The FDA banned the sale of turtles with shells less than 4 inches long, such as Red-eared Sliders, because of the risk of exposure to Salmonella bacteria. Children were likely to become infected from putting the turtles and their unwashed hands into their mouths. Before the ban, there were approximately 280,000 cases of bacterial infection related to baby turtles each year.

Pet shops claim that baby turtles make perfect starter pets for kids and families because they don’t require a lot of effort. Turtle breeders say they are employing new technologies to reduce Salmonella in their operations. However, the bacteria can crop up again when the turtles are brought home, due to unclean living environments and the practice of feeding turtles raw meat. Baby turtle proponents also say that the ban discriminates against this specialized industry. Larger turtles and other reptiles also carry the Salmonella bacteria, but they aren’t as popular as the baby turtles, which are marketed to families with young children.

In addition to the Salmonella risk, exotic animals such as turtles are not appropriate to be kept as pets because most people do not know how to properly care for them, and the animals suffer and die needlessly. In addition, the exotic pet trade is responsible for cruel practices in removing animals from their wild habitats and transporting them to captivity.

Piggybacking harmful amendments onto otherwise innocuous legislation is an underhanded but all-too-common practice in politics. Let's hope this measure does not slide through unnoticed by animal advocates.