Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408110086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"She asked me, 'What do you think of this [turtle] as a pet?' and I told her it was bad news," said Dr. C. Allen Duvall.
Duvall sat on the stoop of his Roanoke County home and choked back tears as he recounted what he said to Tracy Craft, the pregnant woman who brought the turtle to him several months ago.
"I told her I think the world of my family. They're very special to me, and I'm telling you what I would tell them. Having that turtle around as a pet is bad news," Duvall said.
He took the turtle and later put it to death.
Wednesday, 10 members of the League for Animal Protection gathered outside Duvall's Electric Road office to protest the veterinarian's actions.
Waine Tomlinson, a spokesman for the group, said they were there because of a complaint from Craft. He said the organization was aware that people might think protesting the death of a single turtle was an extreme gesture. But, he said, "if [people] don't show any compassion towards a turtle, they may not show any more towards a higher form of life."
According to Craft, a friend found the turtle and gave it to her son. She told her son that before they could keep it, a veterinarian would have to check it out. That's why they went to Duvall.
Craft said Duvall looked at the turtle and began yelling that turtles carry salmonella. She said she asked if it was all right if her son washed his hands after he played with it, and Duvall asked if she would let him play with AIDS and then wash his hands.
Duvall said he drew the comparison to AIDS to get her to realize the severity of the disease. He says salmonella can cause severe gastrointestinal problems and even death in people of any age, but especially in children.
Federal regulations have banned the transportation and sale of turtles in pet stores because of the diseases they carry, Duvall said.
But the animal rights activists' real complaint was with the killing of the turtle. Tomlinson said he understands the dangers of salmonella, but argued that "the most humane and simple thing to do [would be] to release it [back into the wild]."
Duvall disagrees. "Particularly with a novice releasing it ... its chances would be between nil and none," he said.
Duvall said if he was put in the same situation again, he would make the same decision.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***