[Title 21 CFR 1240.62]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - April 1, 1996 Edition]
[Title 21 - FOOD AND DRUGS]
[Chapter I - FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION,]
[Subchapter L - REGULATIONS UNDER CERTAIN OTHER ACTS ADMINISTERED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION]
[Part 1240 - CONTROL OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES]
[Subpart D - Specific Administrative Decisions Regarding Interstate]
[Sec. 1240.62 - Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements.]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




  21
  FOOD AND DRUGS
  8
  1996-04-01
  1996-04-01
  false
  
  1240.62
  Sec. 1240.62
  
    FOOD AND DRUGS
    FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION,
    REGULATIONS UNDER CERTAIN OTHER ACTS ADMINISTERED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
    CONTROL OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
    Specific Administrative Decisions Regarding Interstate
  


Sec. 1240.62  Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements.

    (a) Definition. As used in this section the term ``turtles'' 
includes all animals commonly known as turtles, tortoises, terrapins, 
and all other animals of the order Testudinata, class Reptilia, except 
marine species (families Dermachelidae and Chelonidae).
    (b) Sales; general prohibition. Except as otherwise provided in this 
section, viable turtle eggs and live turtles with a carapace length of 
less than 4 inches shall not be sold, held for sale, or offered for any 
other type of commercial or public distribution.
    (c) Destruction of turtles or turtle eggs; criminal penalties. (1) 
Any viable turtle eggs or live turtles with a carapace length of less 
than 4 inches which are held for sale or offered for any other type of 
commercial or public distribution shall be subject to destruction in a 
humane manner by or under the supervision of an officer or employee of 
the Food and Drug Administration in accordance with the following 
procedures:
    (i) Any District Office of the Food and Drug Administration, upon 
detecting viable turtle eggs or live turtles with a carapace length of 
less than 4 inches which are held for sale or offered for any other type 
of commercial or public distribution, shall serve upon the person in 
whose possession such turtles or turtle eggs are found a written demand 
that such turtles or turtle eggs be destroyed in a humane manner under 
the supervision of said District Office, within 10 working days from the 
date of promulgation of the demand. The demand shall recite with 
particularity the facts which justify the demand. After service of the 
demand, the person in possession of the turtles or turtle eggs shall not 
sell, distribute, or otherwise dispose of any of the turtles or turtle 
eggs except to destroy them under the supervision of the District 
Office, unless and until the Director of the Center for Food Safety and 
Applied Nutrition withdraws the demand for destruction after an appeal 
pursuant to paragraph (c)(1)(ii) of this section.
    (ii) The person on whom the demand for destruction is served may 
either comply with the demand or, within 10 working days from the date 
of its promulgation, appeal the demand for destruction to the Director 
of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug 
Administration, 200 C St. SW., Washington, DC 20204. The demand for 
destruction may also be appealed within the same period of 10 working 
days by any other person having a pecuniary interest in such turtles or 
turtle eggs. In the event of such an appeal, the Center Director shall 
provide an opportunity for hearing by written notice to the appellant(s)

[[Page 598]]

specifying a time and place for the hearing, to be held within 14 days 
from the date of the notice but not within less than 7 days unless by 
agreement with the appellant(s).
    (iii) Appearance by any appellant at the hearing may be by mail or 
in person, with or without counsel. The hearing shall be conducted by 
the Center Director or his designee, and a written summary of the 
proceedings shall be prepared by the person presiding. Any appellant 
shall have the right to hear and to question the evidence on which the 
demand for destruction is based, including the right to cross-examine 
witnesses, and he may present oral or written evidence in response to 
the demand.
    (iv) If, based on the evidence presented at the hearing, the Center 
Director finds that the turtles or turtle eggs were held for sale or 
offered for any other type of commercial or public distribution in 
violation of this section, he shall affirm the demand that they be 
destroyed under the supervision of an officer or employee of the Food 
and Drug Administration; otherwise, the Center Director shall issue a 
written notice that the prior demand by the District Office is 
withdrawn. If the Center Director affirms the demand for destruction he 
shall order that the destruction be accomplished in a humane manner 
within 10 working days from the date of the promulgation of his 
decision. The Center Director's decision shall be accompanied by a 
statement of the reasons for the decision. The decision of the Center 
Director shall constitute final agency action, reviewable in the courts.
    (v) If there is no appeal to the Director of the Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition from the demand by the Food and Drug 
Administration District Office and the person in possession of the 
turtles or turtle eggs fails to destroy them within 10 working days, or 
if the demand is affirmed by the Director of the Center for Food Safety 
and Applied Nutrition after an appeal and the person in possession of 
the turtles or turtle eggs fails to destroy them within 10 working days, 
the District Office shall designate an officer or employee to destroy 
the turtles or turtle eggs. It shall be unlawful to prevent or to 
attempt to prevent such destruction of turtles or turtle eggs by the 
officer or employee designated by the District Office. Such destruction 
will be stayed if so ordered by a court pursuant to an action for review 
in the courts as provided in paragraph (c)(1)(iv) of this section.
    (2) Any person who violates any provision of this section, including 
but not limited to any person who sells, offers for sale, or offers for 
any other type of commercial or public distribution viable turtle eggs 
or live turtles with a carapace length of less than 4 inches, or who 
refuses to comply with a valid final demand for destruction of turtles 
or turtle eggs (either an unappealed demand by an FDA District Office or 
a demand which has been affirmed by the Director of the Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition pursuant to appeal), or who fails to comply 
with the requirement in such a demand that the manner of destruction be 
humane, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or 
imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both, for each violation, in 
accordance with section 368 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
271).
    (d) Exceptions. The provisions of this section are not applicable 
to:
    (1) The sale, holding for sale, and distribution of live turtles and 
viable turtle eggs for bona fide scientific, educational, or 
exhibitional purposes, other than use as pets.
    (2) The sale, holding for sale, and distribution of live turtles and 
viable turtle eggs not in connection with a business.
    (3) The sale, holding for sale, and distribution of live turtles and 
viable turtle eggs intended for export only, provided that the outside 
of the shipping package is conspicuously labeled ``For Export Only.''
    (4) Marine turtles excluded from this regulation under the 
provisions of paragraph (a) of this section and eggs of such turtles.
    (e) Petitions. The Commissioner of Food and Drugs, either on his own 
initiative or on behalf of any interested person who has submitted a 
petition, may publish a proposal to amend this regulation. Any such 
petition shall include an adequate factual basis to sup- 

[[Page 599]]

port the petition, and will be published for comment if it contains 
reasonable grounds for the proposed regulation. A petition requesting 
such a regulation, which would amend this regulation, shall be submitted 
to the Dockets Management Branch, Food and Drug Administration, rm. 1-
23, 12420 Parklawn Dr., Rockville, MD 20857.

[40 FR 22545, May 23, 1975, as amended at 46 FR 8461, Jan. 27, 1981; 48 
FR 11431, Mar. 18, 1983; 54 FR 24900, June 12, 1989; 59 FR 14366, Mar. 
28, 1994]