Our Mission

Tortoise Protection Group Mission Statement

The mission of the Tortoise Protection Group is to help ensure the survival of tortoises in the wild and to promote high standards of husbandry for tortoise keepers in the UK. 

We will achieve this by increasing public awareness of the conditions under which tortoises are brought into the UK for the pet trade.  Various strategies will be utilised including petitioning the government for a ban on the importation of tortoises bound for the UK commercial market.  In addition, we will provide information and guidance on the best methods of tortoise husbandry. 

As a group of committed tortoise keepers, we firmly believe that we can help to prevent unnecessary suffering to tortoises, which is caused by the terrible conditions they have to endure during transportation.  We also consider we can have an impact on the survival of tortoise species in their natural habitat by ensuring a viable wild population, as well as a healthy UK captive breeding programme.

As managers of the Tortoise Protection Group we will actively campaign for an import ban engaging public support through ongoing petitions.  Members will be kept fully informed of activities through newsletters published on the Tortoise Protection Group Web site.  We will meet with government bodies, tortoise societies, animal welfare charities and other organisations to encourage their support for the ban. 

To further our aims we will encourage the public to purchase tortoises through recommended UK tortoise breeders and tortoise re-homing groups.  This will be achieved by initially providing a list of recommended UK breeders, and later by providing a re-homing service and linking to other existing re-homing groups.

In the area of education, by drawing on our own expertise, that of others, and from current research, we will provide the best information that we are able, on all aspects of tortoise keeping and breeding, through the medium of our website and tortoise internet forums.  We will actively engage in speaking at tortoise society meetings and other such public venues to widen the knowledge of tortoise husbandry.

By adopting these positive approaches in the UK the future for some tortoises in their natural environment will be much longer than that currently experienced.  It is hoped that other countries will also consider adopting strategies similar to ours.

       © Tortoise Protection Group 2007