Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted a little ways down about my next door neighbor telling me my animals are suffering in captivity, and need to be free. Well, her brother (who lives off of her) seems to think my sulcatas are gopher tortoises and made the comment, "I'm calling Fish and Game because they're illegal". I said "By all means, call Fish and Game. I don't have anything illegal, but do whatever floats your boat". A Fish and Game officer came out and looked at what I've got. I have two sulcata tortoises, three Russians, three redfoots, two eastern box turtles, and an ornate box turtle, and they're ALL LEGAL.

Yes, there is no depth to the ignorance one comes across when dealing with tortoises. I find it ridiculous that these people actually could take the time to call Fish and Game, but they could not take the time to learn a thing or two from sites such as these. This is why I condemn organizations such as PETA. These people would sooner choose complete ignorance of an animal's biology and habitat before they would ever consider holding it in captivity. They fail to understand that we herpers are doing what we're doing not only because we enjoy the animals, but also because we value their existence on this planet. Sulcatas, for instance, are endangered in their natural habitat. The situation is so bad, we don't even know how many are in the wild. We do not even have an approximate estimate, given that so much of their range occurs in Sudan and Mauritania, and these countries are suffering internal strife that makes the conflict in Iraq look like an embittered exchange of words. The world is an increasingly conflict ridden place, with a growing population that has no regard for such treasures as these tortoises. And you can't really blame these people, given the desperation they face on a daily basis. To top this off, the climate is changing. Many species in South Africa (i.e. Homopus) who are extremely climate sensitive may only have a future under human care. These animals are fascinating, and there is so much we may learn about evolutionary biology from them. The way I see it, we are better served to preserve these animals for future generations and future technologies, so that new ideas may be applied to these animals. I mean, if we do nothing, these animals will surely disappear. And what a shame that will be.

T.G.