# AirTran doesn't care about turtles! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 25, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505 "2010-06-25T17:25:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/21 "2010-06-26T15:14:40Z")
So, what you’re saying is that they’re all replicants? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/22 "2010-06-26T15:25:45Z")
All I know for sure is that it’s turtles all the way down. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/23 "2010-06-26T19:11:37Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > The adorable bundle of joy (appropriately named Neytiri) managed to survive (I’d argue this proves the existence of God). God is a giant, blue, space turtle? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/24 "2010-06-28T16:04:07Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Sorry, but taking random live animals onto a plane without clearing it beforehand is so not a wise move; they don’t even let you have 3.5 oz of a moisturizer on flights. Yes. I never understand people who claim to love a pet but do not use their supposedly advanced brains to think about that pet’s welfare. I also don’t understand anyone who would throw away a live pet, or _any_ adult (even airline industry employees) who would _permit_ it. The result of not being able to take your turtle on the flight is **you don’t get to fly** ; it is _not_ “you get taught that killing a life you are responsible for will fix your own problems or reward you in some way.” Seriously, who would teach children – even other peoples’ children – that _for any reason_\* it’s okay to kill their pet? You have a pet? Fine. That pet’s life and well-being come before your desire to travel, _period_. \*ignoring bizarre cases someone might make up just for the sake of argument, like “would you kill the turtle to stop the Holocaust?” You’re going to make sociopaths out of people if you even let them off the hook for doing this, much less encourage it. And even if “discarding” the turtle was entirely the girls’ idea, the airline personnel shouldn’t let them back onto the plane until they are sure the turtle’s welfare has been arranged for, or they should call Animal Control, not turn a blind eye. Would they tell someone to leave a dog in a parked car in the airport parking lot for a week? ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/25 "2010-06-28T16:13:19Z")
I’m not sure how to feel about this story. Let’s get the opinion from a [qualified expert](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y) ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/26 "2010-06-30T15:24:21Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Besides, they have free wireless. I fly JetBlue whenever possible though. Funny – I fly AirTran fairly often, and I’ve never gotten free wireless – it’s usually $7.95 per flight or $34.95 per month. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/27 "2010-06-30T16:04:30Z")
> [@3waygeek](#): > > Funny – I fly AirTran fairly often, and I’ve never gotten free wireless – it’s usually $7.95 per flight or $34.95 per month. It depends on the route - they tend to run free wireless specials on certain city pairs. For example, for a long time they offered free wi-fi on flights between Boston and Baltimore. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/28 "2010-06-30T16:16:34Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Y’know, I have to side with the airline here. Their prohibition, as reported, is against reptiles in the cabin because they carry salmonella. Who wants to be the one to allow the cute little 10 year old with her adorable turtle, only to have the one take the other out of its sweet little cage and start handling it? And then passing it to another passenger to coo over, and then NOT WASHING THEIR HANDS because it’s a bitch to get into the bathroom on the airplane and they’ll do it just as soon as they get off the plane (promise!) in a real bathroom… And now they’re touching the call lights and the table trays and the drink cart… > > You wanna decontaminate a whole plane sticky with salmonella and then wade through the lawsuits from everyone who gets sick? I don’t. And if I see an easy way to minimize that risk, like not letting animals known to commonly carry the bacteria onto the plane to start with, I’m going to go with that. > > 'Sides, unless she hatched the turtle from an older turtle, that’s an illegal turtle in (most of? all?) the US. You can’t legally buy or sell a turtle under 4 inches as a pet anywhere I know. > > (And I would have made her wash her hands after discarding the turtle, too. But I’m mean like that.) Sigh. First of all, Salmonella is present everywhere, it’s concentration is higher only in reptile feces, not on the skin of the creature. Aquatic turtles _can_ carry the bacteria in higher quantities on their skin due to poor hygienic practices of the owner. This is usually only a problem if the poor creature is swimming in a literal soup of feces, and is easily remedied by a simple water change and rinse. Secondly, you’d have to\* literally place the bloody thing in your mouth\* to transmit enough bacteria to make you ill; it was this exact fad practice that led to the 4 inch rule. That size being determined to be too large to place in a child’s mouth. You have no more chance of catching salmonella from handling a normally cared for small turtle than anywhere else. Lastly, it’s not illegal to sell or possess a small turtle, it simply must be sold for “educational purposes”. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/29 "2010-06-30T16:27:39Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Sigh. > > First of all, Salmonella is present everywhere, it’s concentration is higher only in reptile feces, not on the skin of the creature. Aquatic turtles _can_ carry the bacteria in higher quantities on their skin due to poor hygienic practices of the owner. This is usually only a problem if the poor creature is swimming in a literal soup of feces, and is easily remedied by a simple water change and rinse. Secondly, you’d have to\* literally place the bloody thing in your mouth\* to transmit enough bacteria to make you ill; it was this exact fad practice that led to the 4 inch rule. That size being determined to be too large to place in a child’s mouth. You have no more chance of catching salmonella from handling a normally cared for small turtle than anywhere else. Lastly, it’s not illegal to sell or possess a small turtle, it simply must be sold for “educational purposes”. And it was (is) an aquatic turtle in a very small tank, which may indeed have had elevated levels of feces, we just don’t know. And I said “as a pet”, which “educational purposes” isn’t. So I’m not really seeing where you’re disagreeing here. Sigh yourself. I don’t expect minimum wage counter drones to distinguish between relative levels of risk and make truly informed decisions. I expect them to listen to the lawyers, who see any increased risk and too much increased risk. You don’t fly with reptiles in the passenger compartment. Check him with the dogs and cats if you have to. Send him as cargo (which is what they eventually did). Whatevs. I’m sure she’s a charming child, but she isn’t exempt from the rules, which do have \*some \*rational basis. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/30 "2010-06-30T16:31:03Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > You don’t fly with reptiles in the passenger compartment. Says [who](http://www.moviewallpaper.net/wpp/Samuel_L._Jackson_in_Snakes_on_a_Plane_Wallpaper_3_800.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/31 "2010-06-30T16:36:46Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > And it was (is) an aquatic turtle in a very small tank, which may indeed have had elevated levels of feces, we just don’t know. And I said “as a pet”, which “educational purposes” isn’t. So I’m not really seeing where you’re disagreeing here. > > Sigh yourself. I don’t expect minimum wage counter drones to distinguish between relative levels of risk and make truly informed decisions. I expect them to listen to the lawyers, who see any increased risk and too much increased risk. You don’t fly with reptiles in the passenger compartment. Check him with the dogs and cats if you have to. Send him as cargo (which is what they eventually did). Whatevs. I’m sure she’s a charming child, but she isn’t exempt from the rules, which do have \*some \*rational basis. Dear og. Look, People buying them for their children to have as a pet is a qualified educational purpose. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t be allowed to sell them. As a former owner of an exotic pet store that specialized in reptiles I am very familiar with this law. As to Salmonella, it’s a cultural meme that has little basis in actual reality and the law was written as a knee jerk reaction to a few isolated cases. Salmonella is spread through direct contact, it’s not like a turtle is a walking airbomb of lethal bacteria that infects everything by it’s mere presence. I agree that they ought to go in cargo, that’s where all our animals rode in shipping. What I don’t agree with is hysterical germa-phobic policy making that has only the most cursory basis in reality. That sort of thinking results in species bans, zero tolerance rules and the like. So do me a favor and don’t get uppity when I try to fight a little ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505/32 "2010-06-30T16:52:30Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Says [who](http://www.moviewallpaper.net/wpp/Samuel_L._Jackson_in_Snakes_on_a_Plane_Wallpaper_3_800.jpg)? See?! See what could happen?! There could be turtles everywhere, giving whole new meaning to “turtles all the way DOWN!” 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airtran-doesnt-care-about-turtles/544505.md?page=1)