Hi, I am a bit confused. I went to a tortoise sanctuary today, it is a charity and there are donation pots everywhere. The torts are all kept very well but I feel a bit uneasy as they are also breeding torts there. I feel uneasy as they are asking for money to help with the upkeep of the tortoises but they are adding to them by breeding. Am I weird to think this is wrong. If a cats and dogs home was adding to the collection by breeding more, would they be just causing a bigger problem. I feel really sad about this as they have rescued a lot of tortoises but feel that tey should not be able to breed more. Any thoughts please?????

Hi
Are they intentionally breeding or are they cultivating the eggs that are being laid, by the rescue torts that already have eggs? I do agree with you, if they are intentionally breeding then it does seem a bit irresponsible
Can I ask what area this sanctuary is in?
Jane

No it is torts that are living there. I bought a dvd from them after the visit today and she was gathering eggs and incubating them. She said this is this years hatchlings and showed one hatching, she had boxes of them. I feel a bit sad as they are fighting to stay open as the coucil are saying they are a zoo as torts are not domesticated so I worry about the torts that are there, there are 100s but because they are asking for money and wood etc for enclosures and food I feel they should no way be breeding more. It is difficult. I have 4 torts and know how time consuming and expensive they are to keep and realise peopl buy them not knowing what they are getting into so sanctuaries are very important. I will never breed any of mine and 2 of them are rescue. The sanctuary is in Cornwall. I feel bad for saying this as they were very welcoming but I really think it is wrong to be a charity and add more torts by breeding. Rant over and thank you for listening. x

Hi
I was guessing that you were going to say the The sanctuary in cornwall. There has been a lot of publicity regarding this, it all started when Joy had her tortoises stolen and it was discovered that she was charging entrance fees. Very difficult and sad situation, but yes I do agree, it is not really a good idea to be adding more to the collection by breeding, not really a very logical thing do. Glad you feel better after your rant, I like you, feel quite passionate about my torts, and torts in general, as they seem to get rather a rough deal in life
Jane

It is quite wrong. 100's of tortoises?

This hints at  someone with an obsession way beyond caring for rescue torts. Torts are fantastic, I have kept them for over 40 years. I keep on reading the adverts... full of torts at silly high prices, leading everyone to believe they can make easy money. Does this "sanctuary" offer torts for sale? There will soon be an explosion of badly shelled, poorly kept tortoises which no-one wants ( with few clued up vets) ...Incidentally, do they have registered charity status (a reg. number)? Are there accounts to be seen? Sounds like a bit of investigation might be useful. Anyone else got any advice or opinions?  Maybe the owners want to reply through this site!!!

Regards, David nr York

Hi,

I am not sure about them being a registered charity, I have emailed them and asked if they are selling the young torts, but with the amount of them there I would say not. I have not as yet had a reply and when we were there the husband was talkative but  the lady stayed sat in the shed and made no effort to speak at all.  I just came away from there feeling very uneasy, they were all well looked after but no way should they be breeding. On the dvd she had an incubator full of egg boxes with all had eggs in, thats a lot of babies. I only worry that if a fuss is made, what will happen to all the torts that are there, I wouldnt want them to be pput down or anything as they do seem happy. I wish I hadn't gone there at all now. :(

Looking at their website, they have been breeding since at least 1998. I wonder how many are rescue out of all of those now! Nothing on the site to say they are a registered charity tho! Thanks for listening to my concerns guys. xx

Hi Dave
Guess you are on schools hols now
Not knowing much about the eggs side of tortoises, (although I am trying to learn about it) would it be cruel not to incubate the eggs? I am thinking that probably you can't stop the torts laying the eggs but you can prevent them from hatching?
Jane

Hello Jane, yes, just got back from Cyprus...turtles yes, but no land tortoises. Looking for caspian terrapins, unsuccessfully.

Most obvious solution to prevent over breeding is to separate sexes, but with huge numbers, guess this would not be easy. I would cool eggs after laying, and not incubate, just like farmers do with hen eggs, but then puncture and bury. Plz everybody don't shout at me...if you read all the above postings, you will get the context. Yes I know there are lots of you who would willingly incubate excess eggs, but looking through the adverts, supply is exceeding demand I reckon.

Regards, David nr York

Hi Dave
Not really a good situation all round is it?
Is the caspian terrapin a favourite of yours or do you look for the native species in the country you are visiting?
Jane

Hi Hazel
I have a feeling you are not going to be the only person who will bring this issue up
Jane

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Tortoise-lover-ready-fight-sanctuary-open/story-13017163-detail/story.html

Article regarding the sanctuary I spoke about. I have put a comment to it so will pprobably get hate mail now! I think she should just be a zoo and then she can breed as many torts as she fancies.

UPDATE. The tortoise sanctuary replied to me and said that the dvd they sold us was about 12 years old and that they have not bred any this year. They said they only breed occassionally as they like watching them hatch. They are still fighting the council against closure as the council want them to have a zoo licience as torts are not classed as domesticated animals.

Hi, whilst I havent visited the Tortoise Garden I know they are highly thought of by the TPG and are known for the care and dedication they give to all the tortoises in their care.
The charity boxes are probably there to help with the costs associated with looking after the torts.
With regard to breeding, we encourage UK breeding to stop the import of torts from the wild, that is why we produce and promote the UK torts breeders list we have compiled.
The more UK breeders there are the less that are taken from the wild and imported here.

Regards Vivienne