laws restricting sale of tortoises
I realize this doesn't apply to all tortoise types, but the law laid down by defra :e mail (wildlife.enforce@defra.gsi.gov.uk) are quite strict.
Apparantly it is against the law to sell or purchase certain regional tortoises eg graecia which is a region A as specified, without an id certificate (issued by the EU) stating the owners details and tortoises identity plus being pinned and chipped. So I'm wondering what happens to all those tortoises still alive and healthy in this country which may have been imported illegally from the wild some 30 years ago, but since these types can live to 100 or more and indeed outlive their owners, how can these be passed on to responsible would be owners??? |
Can they be swaped ie a herman for a spurthigh?
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It is for this reason, the work of people such as Joy Bloor at the "Tortoise Garden" in Cornwall was so valuable. Likewise, the rehoming work done by organisations such as The British Chelonia Group, the Tortoise Trust and a number of regional groups is so important. |
Thanks I ve got that clearer now.
But is it possible to obtain verification papers if you ve got one ie a region A that was brought over after 1984 and for whatever reason - ignorance mostly - you ve bought or obtained one without papers? If you could do this you could still sell the tortoise couldn't you - or have I totally missed it! |
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always asking defra especially if you can trace its history and get letters to support that, I managed to get A10 for my Ibera female (sold last year) as I was able to trace her back to the 70's.
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So might I beable to get a certificate for Toby, my old TGG. The owner died and I took him on. The daughter was rehoming him and she had him for at least 40 years. Would I just need a letter from her? |
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That said, the species Agrionemys (Testudo) horsfieldi, known by the common names of Russian Tortoise, or four toed Tortoise are not covered currently by these same CITES requirements and therefore are imported, usually from countries such as Uzbekistan quite legally and sold in the European Pet trade. Since the mid 1980's this species of Tortoise has been the most common seen in the pet trade. The captive farmed Testudo hermanni, Testudo g ibera and Testudo graeca have for the most part only featured in the pet trade in the last decade or so, when Farms principally in Slovenia, and more recently Macedonia and Turkey have been exporting their captive bred stock. All of these, definitely require legal CITES documentation prior to shipment. |
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The interesting thing is that DEFRA do not keep copies of these certs or those that you send back to get reissued for whatever reason. Therefore I wonder the following:
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