I
am often asked by people why they should buy CB (captive bred) rather than WC
(wild caught) turtles and tortoises. To that end I came up with the following
reasons.Return to World Chelonian Trust Main Page for more Turtle and Tortoise Information
Top Eleven Greedy Reasons Not to Buy a
Wild Caught Turtle or Tortoise - Darrell Senneke
(Reprinted with permission from "The
Bridge") - updated 09-28-2003
Copyright © 2003 World Chelonian Trust. All rights reserved
I
am often asked by people why they should buy CB (captive bred) rather than WC
(wild caught) turtles and tortoises. To that end I came up with the following
reasons.
I intentionally am not belaboring the impact on populations depleted by removal
of a non sustainable number of adult animals in low recruitment populations.
While to many people that is a prime motivator, people that are sympathetic to
such pressures being put on the wild populations do not need economic reasons.
These reasons were formulated to appeal to even those most ambivalent about
conservation. Nor am I addressing those species that possibly will only
survive in captivity because of habitat loss,
food market or traditional
medicine pressures in their native habitat. This paper addresses the WC
pet trade.
1. Vet bills - assuming that you do get a semi healthy tortoise or turtle it
still will at a minimum need deworming and an examination, that is assuming you
can find a qualified vet. It is the
difficulty in locating such a vet that prompted the writing of the article:
Locating a Veterinarian
on this site.
2. The likelihood of getting an animal that has not been severely stressed is
nil, at the best you are looking at a three year acclimation period before
normal behavior is manifested.
3. Any WC animal you get has almost certainly been exposed to other species.
What might be a minor ailment in another species may kill your animal - fast.
An example is cited in the WCT care sheet for
Geoemyda spengleri, it
reads as follows, "
In holding areas and shipping, terrestrial
chelonia are mixed with aquatics which carry entamoeba. This then infects the
terrestrials who have little resistance to it leading to mucosal GI erosions.
These erosions lead to bacteria in the bloodstream which leads to liver, lung,
renal abscesses and subsequently death. "
4. How about the
possibility of importing an exotic disease with the WC animal? While there are
very few known diseases carried by reptiles that can infect humans, there is no
such thing as "zero chance", infection of native species in your collection with
a pathogen that they have no resistance to is a very serious threat as well.
5. Because of stress factors wild caught animals are much more difficult to
successfully breed, particularly in the first few years after purchase.
6. Exposing your captive bred animal to a wild caught cagemate effectively
negates a lot of the advantages associated with being captive bred. There are
numerous records of entire herds of breeding tortoises killed by the addition of
a wild caught animal - AFTER quarantine.
7. Why allow anyone to make a profit off you? Most breeders break even at
best, wholesalers and importers are in the business of making money. This is not
a hobby to them.
8. MORE vet bills.........
9. A wild caught collection requires much more or your time to take care of,
rather than general husbandry you need to also become an expert at disease
recognition and prevention. How much is your time worth?
10. Wild caught animals are often treated by the importers with various drugs.
They use these to worm, fight disease, force egg laying, and generally minimize
loss (the "shot gun" approach) while they are in his hands. He often
concentrates on the short term results. The long term dangers of such a
procedure are borne by the final purchaser. Kidney failure and the like take
many WC animals long after they are purchased.
11. Generally a breeder stands behind his or her animals, making themselves
available even years later for help. They generally have an emotional tie to
the animal. Importers vary in their follow-up with customers but none have this
emotional tie.
The above are some things to think about, and maybe you will consider paying an
extra 30 dollars or so and possibly waiting a few months to get a captive-bred
animal.
World Chelonian Trust
www.chelonia.org
PO Box 1445
Vacaville, CA
95696
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