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TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Worcester, Massachusetts) 13 April 07 Tortoise food breaking the bank - Businessman seeks fundraising permit to keep his pets nourished (Kim Ring)
Spencer: It started as a gag gift from his wife in 1999.
Bruce S. Desrosier said he warned his bride that buying him a tiny tortoise would probably mean that more of the creatures would end up living with them, but she bought it anyway.
Since then, Mr. Derosier has spent countless dollars and hours caring for the original tortoise — and the 15 others that found their way to his self-made “rescue.”
While he doesn’t mind giving up the time needed to care for the creatures, the money is becoming an issue, so Mr. Desrosier is seeking a permit from selectmen to hold weekly fundraising bingo games and occasional Texas hold ’em poker tournaments.
“It was about $15 a week to feed them,” he said. “But now it’s $150. They were the size of golf balls, but now ...”
The tortoises, African Sulcatas, Aldabra Giants and Leopards, live in large enclosures at a facility near Mr. Desrosier’s Guaranteed Fitness gym on Route 31. With proper lighting, diet and climate controls, the tortoises thrive, he said. They can live for more than 150 years and weigh as much as 500 pounds when they are fully grown. The largest tips the scales at 130 pounds now, he said.
Over the years, word has spread about Mr. Desrosier’s inability to say no to a tortoise in need, although he’s trying harder. One of the tortoises came from a Harvard University professor, after it grew too big to be used for education. Another was a pet that an Environmental Protection Agency investigator couldn’t house any longer. Two came from Michigan and four from Rhode Island. Mr. Desrosier knows each by name, and they seem to recognize him.
And he may be adding a few more creatures — if the eight eggs found in Emily’s pen, which came as a complete surprise, hatch in the incubator he bought for them.
The tortoises are legal to keep in Massachusetts, but are not supposed to be sold until they are at least 4 inches long. Still, smaller ones are marketed for educational purposes, Mr. Desrosier explained.
Once the fun little pets get too big to keep inside or eat too much for a family’s budget, they are often abandoned. They cannot survive outside in the New England climate and require care to prevent them from developing respiratory problems.
“If you’re going to have one,” he said, “you better plan on giving up a room in your house.”
The tortoises are generally friendly, especially if a visitor has food to offer. Jake and his companion Emily made quick work of a banana, practically swallowing it whole, as Selectmen Gary P. Herl and Peter J. Durant learned during their visit to the facility this week.
Mr. Durant said he was “pretty impressed” with the facility.
“It’s something you don’t see very often,” he said, adding that he sees no reason why he couldn’t support the request for the bingo permit.
Mr. Desrosier said he is also working with state Rep. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, to secure a state grant that would allow him to fence an outside area so the tortoises could bask in the summer sun when the temperature allows.
He hopes to open the place to visitors to help teach the public about tortoises.
Tortoise food breaking the bank

Interestong article!
Strangest bit of potential pork legislation I have have heard of!
Couldn't the owner contact a local grocery store & make a deal to buy their "blemished" veggies to feed the torts on top of cheap hay???
I love torts & applaud those that "rescue" animals but should the taxpayers pay for this???

The article says he's looking for a permit to have a "bingo night" to raise money. A permit. That's all.

-So nobody will have to get their shorts in a bunch about "their" tax dollars going to this guy's torts. I'm sure the taxpayers appreciate your vigilance on their behalf, but according to what's written there's no "pork" here.

Just for the record, the last line says he is applying for a GRANT from the state to fence in the torts. Not saying thats good use of tax dollars or not but previous poster was correct

that's apparently in reference to fencing and opening the place to visitors as an educational center. The representative actually quoted talks only about supporting a fundraising permit. The article is about the expense of food for the torts, and nowhere is it suggested that any public funds are being sought by this man to feed his "pets."

Grant money for creating an "educational center" is a separate issue. As to whether taxpayer dollars should be used for grants... well, that's kind of what they're for and the process is designed to select appropriate recipients. As you may know, grant writing is a specialty unto itself.

If taxpayers don't want money used for grants, then once again that's an entirely different matter.

Bottom line is: the guy is seeking a fundraising permit. He may wish to pursue a grant, he may hope to open a center, but he is seeking a permit.

I see your point & I have shpould have worded my original response correctly but... "Businessman seeks fundraising permit to keep his pets nourished"

Huhm... maybe I can get a permit to have a Hooter's girls car wash to pay to feed my torts!

Sounds like the man needs to cut back on his collection IF HE WERE RESPONSIBLE. What is he going to do when he is in need of vet care???

Just my opinion. I know it is easy to let a collection get out of control but as a "businessman" he should know better.

Well shouldn't the original pet owners 'know better' FIRST?

This IS a rescue after all. Isn't he taking in unwanted pets? With that in mind, and seeing how terrible humans can be to their 'friends' when they can't be cared for, he's doing a big service.

he may be having trouble, but at least he's TRYING. I can't say the same for the previous owners.

So what if he's applying for a grant? Since the place would be EDUCATIONAL he can teach the majority of fools in our society who don't think ahead.

I actually know where this guy is. I live about 20 minutes away from him. I've also seen how truly stupid many people are and seen the poor animals that have paid for their stupidity.

If he wants some of my tax money to try to educate people, I'm all for it.

How is his place "EDUCATIONAL"?

I am all for people helping animals & for people educating themselves before purchasing pets.

However stay out of my wallet thank you.

I know of way too many people who call themselves "animal rescues" when in reality they are just people looking to accumulate cheap pets... sometimes they even resell them after the "rescue".

Being a true animal rescue is a thankless job & I commend those people. However I have a feeling this is not the case here.

Its educational because people can come in and see stuff like signs that say things like: "This poor tortoise has a massively malfomed shell because it grew up in poor conditions." etc.

Other signs might say, "This is the Horsfields Tortoise also known as the Russian Tortoise. Its natural habitat is ......" etc etc.

There might also be the owner giving tours where he can talk about why he has a rescue and what someone should do (and NOT do) if they really want to buy a tortoise as a pet.

Thats just the simple stuff. How do YOU know what he's going to do? When writing a grant proposal, if I'm not mistaken, you have to tell the committee what you plan on doing to make it educational, make it safe, make it a good home for unwanted torts, etc.
I'm PRETTY sure you can't just say, "I want a grant so I can keep and feed cheap pets."
I'm sure grant committees have best interests in mind when deciding where the money goes.

So I ask....even if the guy IS just trying to keep 'cheap pets'. Whats the better environment? His large outdoor area and multiple enclosures? Or where the tort USED to be in a 20 gallon aquarium with the "froot loop" and dogfood diet from PetCo?

Stay out of your wallet? Well as an educator, I've seen what many American children do to waste MY tax money. I've also seen how schools and other non-profit afterschool programs are simply used as baby sitting services.
Can I refuse to have my money go to the public school systems, especially in low income areas where the kids don't want to be there to begin with? The government funded after school programs?

Just something to think about....

We pay people to watch how quickly ketchup runs down a stainless steel surface. What's one more odd thing on the budget? At least it makes for a good story. And tortoises should be helped by the government. I mean, isn't it our collective responsibility to ensure the tortoises have a future in both captivity and the wild? This can't be done if responsible keeping is not encouraged. All I'm saying is that it's better press than Burmese Pythons growing to size in Florida swamps and displacing local wildlife or russian tortoises running wild in southern Arizona deserts, dangerously close to wild desert tortoise populations.

T.G.