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Moray pet shop urges against buying exotic pets in turtle movie craze

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Moray pet shop owners are urging fans against buying exotic pets on a whim after a Hollywood movie sparked a turtle frenzy.

Owners of FP Birnie Pet Shop in Elgin, Andrew and Kerry Birnie, have been inundated with requests for turtles following the release of the newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) film.

The hugely popular franchise follows four anthropomorphic turtles who fight crime in New York.

The half-shelled heroes began life as a comic book in 1984 and expanded into a cartoon series, video games, toys and films, with popularity peaking in the early 1990s.

However, the 2014 movie launch has attracted a new generation of crazed fans wanting to buy turtles as pets, which the Birnies – who have specialised in reptiles for the last 19 years – strongly cautioned against.

Mrs Birnie said: “I know this might upset the TMNT fans out there, but we will not be selling turtles. We’ve had a lot of people asking and requesting we get them in.

“They are not an easy pet to keep. Some can live 30 years, they grow far larger than anyone ever expects, they can be smelly if not maintained regularly and they carry salmonella.

“In the care of the right people who provide all the necessary equipment they make lovely pets. So, if after all that you still feel you would like one as a pet, I’m sure the rescue centres would appreciate you offering one of their many turtles a home, as they are over-run from the last turtle film craze.”

Mr Birnie added: “It’s very similar to when that Nemo film came out, everyone wanted a wee Nemo clown fish to stick in a bowl in the kid’s bedroom, but they don’t realise they are salt water fish that need special care. We get the impression that people will just keep going until they get one, which is a worry because in six months they will end up in rescue homes, if they even make it that far.”