Sorenne is going to a new kindy for two days a week. It seems groovy, and after the intro parent meeting they took me up on my issues and used some extra budget to buy two refrigerators for food safety reasons.

But about the turtle.

There’s a large turtle in an aquarium that attracts the childrens’ attention – and fingers.

According to research published in the RSM Short Reports, researchers found that turtles in captivity carry the risk of exposure to toxic contaminants and zoonotic pathogens – which able to move from animals to humans – such as bacteria, viruses and parasites.

The review was based on a four-year case study of the Cayman Turtle Farm in Grand Cayman, Caribbean, which attracted an estimated 1.2 million visitors.

Most of the turtles at the farm are green sea turtles.

Clifford Warwick, lead author of the report, said the conditions the turtles are kept in plays a key role in the increased risk factors.

“Significantly, the captive farming of turtles arguably increases the threat to health, in particular from bacteria, due to the practice of housing many turtles in a relatively confined space and under intensive conditions,” he said.

Warwick said the findings highlight the need for further investigation and awareness.