[vikki]

I agree with that - i think pet shops should not be licensed to sell ANY animals. The problem still occurs though of all those tortoises (and other animals) that are bought on a bit of a whim or by people who do no research and do not realise the care/costs involved and then 6-12 months later the novelty has worn off and they end up on internet sites for the whole cycle to start again and the poor animal suffering for it
Alot of people seem to want the quick and easy option - walk in pet shop/choose tortoise/pay/walk out. They do not seem to be prepared to research where breeders are and then travel to them or wait for the tortoises to be old enough etc. Also the problem occurs of how ethical breeders advertise their stock - how do people know they are good breeders? Do they advertise on the internet sites that get the most viewing but may be more dubious in the hope that at least some people will pick them. When i was looking at buying my two it was a minefield (and most of you know the consequences!!!) I bought from what i thought were established breeders and travelled quite a distance but my lack of knowledge (despite prior research) meant it didn't turn out as expected!! I contacted several recommended breeders from tortoise websites but most i didnt even get a reply from (I hasten to add that i hadn't found this great forum then ) I think it will always be really hard to know if your tortoises are going to end up in good homes and that would probably be one thing that would put me off breeding any more than i could personally keep.