It doesn't look very professional when you read it, but it's at least something.
Desert Tortoise faces threat from its own refuge
- Thread starter jmu114
- Start date
Just got home from the store, hadn't read our local newspaper yet. Even my grocery bagger was upset by the article! I'm glad our small local paper carried the story. If nothing else, to bring the awareness to readers that this is happening. The issue could have easily been swept under the rug. I'm thankful an AP reporter put this out for all medias to see and hopefully they cover it as well.
Go after it ThatRebbecca and if your editor allow you to do a piece, I hope you'll share it with us!
Go after it ThatRebbecca and if your editor allow you to do a piece, I hope you'll share it with us!
Here are links to petitions on change.org and moveon.org as well
http://www.change.org/petitions/u-s...d-slaughter-of-tortoises-due-to-lack-of-funds
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/blm-stop-the-plan-to.fb30?source=c.fb&r_by=917266
Also, American Tortoise Rescue is seeking an attorney who would sue them pro bono, so if anyone knows anything about that, please contact ATR
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanTortoiseRescue?hc_location=stream
http://www.change.org/petitions/u-s...d-slaughter-of-tortoises-due-to-lack-of-funds
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/blm-stop-the-plan-to.fb30?source=c.fb&r_by=917266
Also, American Tortoise Rescue is seeking an attorney who would sue them pro bono, so if anyone knows anything about that, please contact ATR
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanTortoiseRescue?hc_location=stream
Desert tortoise faces threat from its own refuge as BLM closes Vegas rescue cen
Desert tortoise faces threat from its own refuge as BLM closes Vegas rescue center (Euthanize some of the tortoises)
By Associated Press, Published: August 25, 2013
LAS VEGAS — For decades, the vulnerable desert tortoise has led a sheltered existence.
Developers have taken pains to keep the animal safe. It’s been protected from meddlesome hikers by the threat of prison time. And wildlife officials have set the species up on a sprawling conservation reserve outside Las Vegas.
But the pampered desert dweller now faces a threat from the very people who have nurtured it.
Federal funds are running out at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center and officials plan to close the site and euthanize hundreds of the tortoises they’ve been caring for since the animals were added to the endangered species list in 1990.
“It’s the lesser of two evils, but it’s still evil,†said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service desert tortoise recovery coordinator Roy Averill-Murray during a visit to the soon-to-be-shuttered reserve at the southern edge of the Las Vegas Valley last week.
Biologists went about their work examining tortoises for signs of disease as Averill-Murray walked among the reptile pens. But the scrubby 220-acre refuge area will stop taking new animals in the coming months. Most that arrive in the fall will simply be put down, late-emerging victims of budget problems that came from the same housing bubble that put a neighborhood of McMansions at the edge of the once-remote site.
The Bureau of Land Management has paid for the holding and research facility with fees imposed on developers who disturb tortoise habitat on public land. As the housing boom swept through southern Nevada in the 2000s, the tortoise budget swelled. But when the recession hit, the housing market contracted, and the bureau and its local government partners began struggling to meet the center’s $1 million annual budget.
Housing never fully recovered, and the federal mitigation fee that developers pay has brought in just $290,000 during the past 11 months. Local partners, which collect their own tortoise fees, have pulled out of the project.
“With the money going down and more and more tortoises coming in, it never would have added up,†said BLM spokeswoman Hillerie Patton.
Back at the conservation center, a large refrigerator labeled “carcass freezer†hummed in the desert sun as scientists examined the facility’s 1,400 inhabitants to find those hearty enough to release into the wild. Officials expect to euthanize more than half the animals in the coming months in preparation for closure at the end of 2014.
The desert tortoise is a survivor that has toddled around the Southwest for 200 million years. But ecologists say the loss of the conservation center represents a harmful blow in southern Nevada for an animal that has held onto some unfortunate evolutionary quirks that impede its coexistence with strip malls, new homes and solar plants.
Laws to protect the panicky plodders ban hikers from picking them up, since the animals are likely dehydrate themselves by voiding a year’s worth of stored water when handled. When they’re moved, they nearly always attempt to trudge back to their burrows, foiling attempts to keep them out of harm’s way. They’re also beset by respiratory infections and other illnesses.
No more than 100,000 tortoises are thought to survive in the habitat where millions once burrowed across parts of Utah, California, Arizona and Nevada.
The animals were once so abundant that tourists would scoop them up as souvenirs. Many quickly realized the shy grass-eaters don’t make ideal pets. (For one thing, they can live for 100 years.) And once the species was classified as threatened on the endangered species list, people rushed to give them back.
Former pets make up the majority of the tortoises at the conservation center, where they spend their days staring down jackrabbits and ducking out of the sun into protective PVC piping tucked into the rocky desert floor. Most of these animals are not suitable for release, either infected with disease or otherwise too feeble to survive.
Averill-Murray looks as world-weary as the animals he studies. He wants to save at least the research function of the center and is looking for alternative funding sources.
“It’s not the most desirable model to fund recovery — on the back of tortoise habitat,†he said.
___
Desert tortoise faces threat from its own refuge as BLM closes Vegas rescue center (Euthanize some of the tortoises)
By Associated Press, Published: August 25, 2013
LAS VEGAS — For decades, the vulnerable desert tortoise has led a sheltered existence.
Developers have taken pains to keep the animal safe. It’s been protected from meddlesome hikers by the threat of prison time. And wildlife officials have set the species up on a sprawling conservation reserve outside Las Vegas.
But the pampered desert dweller now faces a threat from the very people who have nurtured it.
Federal funds are running out at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center and officials plan to close the site and euthanize hundreds of the tortoises they’ve been caring for since the animals were added to the endangered species list in 1990.
“It’s the lesser of two evils, but it’s still evil,†said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service desert tortoise recovery coordinator Roy Averill-Murray during a visit to the soon-to-be-shuttered reserve at the southern edge of the Las Vegas Valley last week.
Biologists went about their work examining tortoises for signs of disease as Averill-Murray walked among the reptile pens. But the scrubby 220-acre refuge area will stop taking new animals in the coming months. Most that arrive in the fall will simply be put down, late-emerging victims of budget problems that came from the same housing bubble that put a neighborhood of McMansions at the edge of the once-remote site.
The Bureau of Land Management has paid for the holding and research facility with fees imposed on developers who disturb tortoise habitat on public land. As the housing boom swept through southern Nevada in the 2000s, the tortoise budget swelled. But when the recession hit, the housing market contracted, and the bureau and its local government partners began struggling to meet the center’s $1 million annual budget.
Housing never fully recovered, and the federal mitigation fee that developers pay has brought in just $290,000 during the past 11 months. Local partners, which collect their own tortoise fees, have pulled out of the project.
“With the money going down and more and more tortoises coming in, it never would have added up,†said BLM spokeswoman Hillerie Patton.
Back at the conservation center, a large refrigerator labeled “carcass freezer†hummed in the desert sun as scientists examined the facility’s 1,400 inhabitants to find those hearty enough to release into the wild. Officials expect to euthanize more than half the animals in the coming months in preparation for closure at the end of 2014.
The desert tortoise is a survivor that has toddled around the Southwest for 200 million years. But ecologists say the loss of the conservation center represents a harmful blow in southern Nevada for an animal that has held onto some unfortunate evolutionary quirks that impede its coexistence with strip malls, new homes and solar plants.
Laws to protect the panicky plodders ban hikers from picking them up, since the animals are likely dehydrate themselves by voiding a year’s worth of stored water when handled. When they’re moved, they nearly always attempt to trudge back to their burrows, foiling attempts to keep them out of harm’s way. They’re also beset by respiratory infections and other illnesses.
No more than 100,000 tortoises are thought to survive in the habitat where millions once burrowed across parts of Utah, California, Arizona and Nevada.
The animals were once so abundant that tourists would scoop them up as souvenirs. Many quickly realized the shy grass-eaters don’t make ideal pets. (For one thing, they can live for 100 years.) And once the species was classified as threatened on the endangered species list, people rushed to give them back.
Former pets make up the majority of the tortoises at the conservation center, where they spend their days staring down jackrabbits and ducking out of the sun into protective PVC piping tucked into the rocky desert floor. Most of these animals are not suitable for release, either infected with disease or otherwise too feeble to survive.
Averill-Murray looks as world-weary as the animals he studies. He wants to save at least the research function of the center and is looking for alternative funding sources.
“It’s not the most desirable model to fund recovery — on the back of tortoise habitat,†he said.
___
Apparently the San Diego Zoo disputes some of the facts in the AP story. Still working with my editors on getting permission to pursue this (I normally cover movies).
http://www.examiner.com/article/san...sia-of-threatened-tortoises-despite-ap-report
http://www.examiner.com/article/san...sia-of-threatened-tortoises-despite-ap-report
I am soooooo effing outraged I don't know what to say.
Thank you Orange County for the complaint forms and names.
i will pass this on to all of my animal loving friends.
What a cowardly solution they have found for their problem. They should be more than ashamed of themselves!
Thank you Orange County for the complaint forms and names.
i will pass this on to all of my animal loving friends.
What a cowardly solution they have found for their problem. They should be more than ashamed of themselves!
thatrebecca said:
THANK YOU thatrebecca! Thank you for pitching this to your editor.
We cannot allow this irresponsibility to kill these tortoises. If they knew that funding was precarious why did they not partner long ago with the CTTC and other like minded groups so these babies could be fostered and/or adopted by the very same taxpayers who pay through the nose for these agencies. We, the People, might as well do it, if we want to do it right. The death of 252 desert tortoises at the hands of the Army during translocation in 2008 comes immediately to mind. These agencies can go on my list of government entities that cannot be trusted.
What they cannot partner with the People? They do not want to help the tortoises? Just USE them to get funding and when they cannot use them anymore, they choose to KILL them.
Enough is enough.
FYI: I called and wrote to Attorney General offices this morning for both states that consider the desert tortoise their State reptile. CA + NV.
I also emailed a letter to The Turtle Conservancy via [email protected] asking for help. Perhaps a benefactor can help us get a preserve, or ???
I also wrote to The Trust for Public Land to see if they can help buy that land with the tortoises. Kick the government agents out. The People can do it better.
I called a general manager for a water district to pitch an idea. Would they partner in adopting tortoises to water customers who have changed their landscapes to drought tolerant gardens. Perhaps the Board of Directors for these water districts would be willing to have an unusual conserve water, save a tortoise partnership. There are many native plant gardens happening out there that perhaps would be perfect for a little native garden desert tortoise to oversee. Win-win.
Alright everyone, let's continue the charge!!!!
thatrebecca said:
Huge PR fiasco for the SD Zoo, so they need to dispute it.
The BLM wants them killed, and what? they forgot to tell the Zoo people? According to the article, there are carcasses in the freezer. Why are these "pet tortoises" not being adopted to loving homes.
These five agencies need to explain this AP story. It did not evolve out of thin air.
Another organization that can possibly help, see how they filed on behalf of the CDT a few years ago...
Center for Biological Diversity
California
351 California St., Ste. 600
San Francisco, CA 94104
tel: (415) 436.9682
fax: (415) 436.9683
PMB 447, 8033 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046-2401
tel: (323) 654.5943
fax: (323) 650.4620
For Immediate Release, August 27, 2010
Contact: Ileene Anderson, (323) 654-5943 or [email protected]
Lawsuit Filed to Protect Desert Tortoise From Mining
LOS ANGELES— The Center for Biological Diversity and the Desert Tortoise Council filed a lawsuit today against the city of Twentynine Palms for approving the expansion of a mining project on lands that are home to the federally and state-protected desert tortoise. Ignoring wildlife protection laws, the city council failed to require that the desert tortoise be protected and that permits be obtained before moving forward with the project. Both the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the wildlife agencies charged with protecting desert tortoises, told the city that permits were needed before the mine expansion could go forward.
“Why the city of Twentynine Palms is ignoring state and federal law is mystifying,†said Ileene Anderson, a biologist with the Center. “All projects that affect desert tortoises must go through the permitting process so that this unique species stands a chance at survival.â€
The Granite Mine expansion is proposed on 356 acres, with 178 acres of active mining. Desert tortoises have been documented in areas where active mining is proposed. In the original environmental review, the city recognized the need to comply with state and federal laws and seek a permit for the expansion. The city later did an about-face and simply abandoned plans to acquire a permit, in direct conflict with law.
“The city council should have and must respect the recommendations of the state and federal agencies that are mandated to protect the Mojave desert tortoise,†said Sid Silliman of the Desert Tortoise Council. “It is a matter of due diligence under the law.â€
Today’s case was filed in superior court in San Bernardino County.
Having survived tens of thousands of years in California’s deserts, desert tortoises have declined precipitously in recent years. The population crash has been caused by a combination of pressures, including disease; crushing by vehicles; military, industrial and suburban development; habitat degradation; and predation by dogs and ravens. Because of its dwindling numbers, the desert tortoise — California’s official state reptile — is protected under both federal and California endangered species acts.
###
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national nonprofit conservation organization with more than 255,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Bureau of Land Management
Thanks to Jay of CTTC Long Beach for this list.
Your voice WILL make a difference!
I am calling every number. Every office will know I am mad at the BLM. Wild mustangs, wolves, now our beloved tortoises. Where does the Bureau of Land Mayhem end?
Principal Deputy Director: Neil Kornze
Acting Deputy Director (Operations): Jamie Connell
Chief of Staff: Janet Lin
For all of the above, please use:
BLM Washington Office
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665
Washington DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-3801
Fax: 202-208-5242
director@...
Mike Nedd
Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5625
Phone: 202-208-4201
Fax: 202-208-4800
E-mail: mnedd@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Fluid Minerals Division
Solid Minerals Division
Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey Division
National Renewable Energy Coordination Office
Tim Murphy
Assistant Director, Office of Fire and Aviation
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5070
Phone: 202-208-5440
Fax: 202-208-3812
E-mail: tmurphy@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Celia Boddington
Assistant Director, Communications
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5645
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-6913
Fax: 202-208-6769
E-mail: cbodding@...
Office of the Assistant DirectorÂ
Correspondence, International and Advisory Committees
Public Affairs Division
Legislative Affairs Division
Regulatory Affairs Division
Ann DeBlasi
Acting Assistant Director, Business and Fiscal Resources
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5624
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-4864
FAX: 202-208-5964
E-mail: Â amdeblas@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Evaluations and Management Services
Business Resources
Branch of WO Business Services
Branch of Property Management
Budget Division
Other BLM Offices
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Eastern States
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Wyoming
National Operations Center
National Office of Fire & Aviation
National Training Center
Edwin Roberson
Assistant Director, Renewable Resources and Planning
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5644
Phone: 202-208-4896
Fax: 202-208-5010
E-mail: eroberso@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Planning and NEPA DivisionÂ
Rangeland Resources Division
Fish, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Division
Cultural, Paleontological Resources and Tribal Consultation
Recreation and Visitor Services Division
Wild Horses and Burros Division
Palomino Valley Facility
Mid-Continent Facility
Forests and Woodlands Division
Environmental Quality and Protection Division
Lisa Jollay
Acting Assistant Director, Information Resources Mgt.
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5612
Phone: 202-208-7701
Fax: 202-208-5902
E-mail: ljollay@...
Office of the Assistant Director
IT Investment Management Division
IRM Governance Division
IT and Business Alignment Division
IT Security Division
Carole Carter-Pfisterer
Assistant Director, Human Capital Management
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5611
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202-501-6723
FAX: 202-208-6687
E-mail: capfiste@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Division of Human Resources Policy and Programs
Division of Civil Rights
Division of Safety, Health, and Emergency Management
Carl Rountree
Director, Office of National Landscape Conservation System and Community
Programs
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-3516
FAX: 202-606-3156
E-mail: crountre@...
Thanks to Jay of CTTC Long Beach for this list.
Your voice WILL make a difference!
I am calling every number. Every office will know I am mad at the BLM. Wild mustangs, wolves, now our beloved tortoises. Where does the Bureau of Land Mayhem end?
Principal Deputy Director: Neil Kornze
Acting Deputy Director (Operations): Jamie Connell
Chief of Staff: Janet Lin
For all of the above, please use:
BLM Washington Office
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665
Washington DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-3801
Fax: 202-208-5242
director@...
Mike Nedd
Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5625
Phone: 202-208-4201
Fax: 202-208-4800
E-mail: mnedd@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Fluid Minerals Division
Solid Minerals Division
Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey Division
National Renewable Energy Coordination Office
Tim Murphy
Assistant Director, Office of Fire and Aviation
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5070
Phone: 202-208-5440
Fax: 202-208-3812
E-mail: tmurphy@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Celia Boddington
Assistant Director, Communications
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5645
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-6913
Fax: 202-208-6769
E-mail: cbodding@...
Office of the Assistant DirectorÂ
Correspondence, International and Advisory Committees
Public Affairs Division
Legislative Affairs Division
Regulatory Affairs Division
Ann DeBlasi
Acting Assistant Director, Business and Fiscal Resources
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5624
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-4864
FAX: 202-208-5964
E-mail: Â amdeblas@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Evaluations and Management Services
Business Resources
Branch of WO Business Services
Branch of Property Management
Budget Division
Other BLM Offices
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Eastern States
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Wyoming
National Operations Center
National Office of Fire & Aviation
National Training Center
Edwin Roberson
Assistant Director, Renewable Resources and Planning
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5644
Phone: 202-208-4896
Fax: 202-208-5010
E-mail: eroberso@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Planning and NEPA DivisionÂ
Rangeland Resources Division
Fish, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Division
Cultural, Paleontological Resources and Tribal Consultation
Recreation and Visitor Services Division
Wild Horses and Burros Division
Palomino Valley Facility
Mid-Continent Facility
Forests and Woodlands Division
Environmental Quality and Protection Division
Lisa Jollay
Acting Assistant Director, Information Resources Mgt.
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5612
Phone: 202-208-7701
Fax: 202-208-5902
E-mail: ljollay@...
Office of the Assistant Director
IT Investment Management Division
IRM Governance Division
IT and Business Alignment Division
IT Security Division
Carole Carter-Pfisterer
Assistant Director, Human Capital Management
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5611
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202-501-6723
FAX: 202-208-6687
E-mail: capfiste@...
Office of the Assistant Director
Division of Human Resources Policy and Programs
Division of Civil Rights
Division of Safety, Health, and Emergency Management
Carl Rountree
Director, Office of National Landscape Conservation System and Community
Programs
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-3516
FAX: 202-606-3156
E-mail: crountre@...
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced it will kill hundreds of threatened dese
http://www.kingsnake.com/blog/archi...ts-conservation-center-runs-out-of-money.html
Is it true?Why don't they try to let the public to adopt them???
Link to center, in case anyone wants to contact them and ask about adoption: http://www.conservationcenters.org/conservation-research/desert-tortoise/
http://www.kingsnake.com/blog/archi...ts-conservation-center-runs-out-of-money.html
Is it true?Why don't they try to let the public to adopt them???
Link to center, in case anyone wants to contact them and ask about adoption: http://www.conservationcenters.org/conservation-research/desert-tortoise/
U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced it will kill hundreds of threatened dese
Much easier to just kill them or by threatening to kill them they think they will get the money they need.
Much easier to just kill them or by threatening to kill them they think they will get the money they need.
RE: U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced it will kill hundreds of threatened dese
This is unacceptable all around. Why not offer tortoises for adoption? Why are they hellbent on killing them? It seems that killing has been considered the first and only answer to any problem. I am in shock, personally.
Jacqui said:
This is unacceptable all around. Why not offer tortoises for adoption? Why are they hellbent on killing them? It seems that killing has been considered the first and only answer to any problem. I am in shock, personally.
Some clarity on the subject.
http://www.fws.gov/cno/press/release.cfm?rid=526
http://www.fws.gov/cno/press/release.cfm?rid=526
Nevada desert tortoises
i saw this online on a news channel page and also on craiglist. its sad that for years they have been tryin to conserve the tortoise and now due to no more state funds they ate gonna euthanize them. :-(
hope link works
http://rt.com/usa/desert-tortoises-euthanize-nevada-024/
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using TortForum mobile app
i saw this online on a news channel page and also on craiglist. its sad that for years they have been tryin to conserve the tortoise and now due to no more state funds they ate gonna euthanize them. :-(
hope link works
http://rt.com/usa/desert-tortoises-euthanize-nevada-024/
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using TortForum mobile app
Re: The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced it will kill hundreds of threatened
WTH?! The BLM is out of control!!!
They are torturing and killing the wild Mustangs and burros too. They clearly have no respect for the animals, nor for the wishes of the American people.
Ann from CT
WTH?! The BLM is out of control!!!
They are torturing and killing the wild Mustangs and burros too. They clearly have no respect for the animals, nor for the wishes of the American people.
Ann from CT
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced it will kill hundreds of threatened dese
Bureau of Land Mayhem.
You are right, they violate the public's trust in so many ways.
Please read this link: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-77961.html
Bureau of Land Mayhem.
You are right, they violate the public's trust in so many ways.
Please read this link: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-77961.html
RE: Nevada desert tortoises
Check out this conversation about this LaLA.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-77961.html
Thanks Kelly.
So was the press release, I ask myself, a way to stir up things? It sounds like extortion then. If we do not get our money (foot stomp) we will kill the tortoises. Or is it more on the lines that they do not want the responsibility of finding homes for these pet tortoises, nor to educate possible homes, so it is just easier to say they are sick and kill them. Every desert tortoise I have ever encountered has a runny nose at some time or another. Is that considered sick enough to snuff it? Like the dog pounds who kill dogs and cats for kennel cough. Kill me, I have a cold today. I believe that I do not believe the Feds. They got tons of money in years past and could have implemented a responsible stewardship that involved adoption and educating the public. I still want to know why this option to kill is an option now. Five agencies and no one could come up with a sustainable plan on behalf of these animals. Geeez.
These quotes are bothersome.
"Most that arrive in the fall will simply be put down, late-emerging victims of budget problems that came from the same housing bubble that put a neighborhood of McMansions at the edge of the once-remote site."
"Officials expect to euthanize more than half the animals in the coming months in preparation for closure at the end of 2014."
Check out this conversation about this LaLA.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-77961.html
Thanks Kelly.
So was the press release, I ask myself, a way to stir up things? It sounds like extortion then. If we do not get our money (foot stomp) we will kill the tortoises. Or is it more on the lines that they do not want the responsibility of finding homes for these pet tortoises, nor to educate possible homes, so it is just easier to say they are sick and kill them. Every desert tortoise I have ever encountered has a runny nose at some time or another. Is that considered sick enough to snuff it? Like the dog pounds who kill dogs and cats for kennel cough. Kill me, I have a cold today. I believe that I do not believe the Feds. They got tons of money in years past and could have implemented a responsible stewardship that involved adoption and educating the public. I still want to know why this option to kill is an option now. Five agencies and no one could come up with a sustainable plan on behalf of these animals. Geeez.
These quotes are bothersome.
"Most that arrive in the fall will simply be put down, late-emerging victims of budget problems that came from the same housing bubble that put a neighborhood of McMansions at the edge of the once-remote site."
"Officials expect to euthanize more than half the animals in the coming months in preparation for closure at the end of 2014."
If they received some of the tortoises as pets they have taken in why not try to adopt them out? I mean my Betty would probably be considered in poor health due to her first owners lack of knowledge and poor care but in captivity the vet said she can live a long and healthy life even though in the wild she would more than likely die.
Maybe if they adopted them out they could use adoption fees to raise funds to help the wild tortoises.
Maybe if they adopted them out they could use adoption fees to raise funds to help the wild tortoises.
Here is an email I got from Roy Averill-Murray of the FWS
"Please let me clarify that healthy tortoises at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center are NOT being euthanized. Those tortoises are being returned to wild populations under carefully planned releases. What got lost in the press report was that only unhealthy tortoises that cannot be used for recovery or adopted, may be euthanized. More information is available at http://www.fws.gov/cno/press/release.cfm?rid=526.
We are continuing to look at options to keep the DTCC open beyond 2014 to aid in the conservation of the species, but it cannot be focused on unwanted pet tortoises. Toward that end, we are continuing to work with State and local agencies to facilitate and increase adoptions of pet tortoises that come into the local animal shelter.
Roy"
"Please let me clarify that healthy tortoises at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center are NOT being euthanized. Those tortoises are being returned to wild populations under carefully planned releases. What got lost in the press report was that only unhealthy tortoises that cannot be used for recovery or adopted, may be euthanized. More information is available at http://www.fws.gov/cno/press/release.cfm?rid=526.
We are continuing to look at options to keep the DTCC open beyond 2014 to aid in the conservation of the species, but it cannot be focused on unwanted pet tortoises. Toward that end, we are continuing to work with State and local agencies to facilitate and increase adoptions of pet tortoises that come into the local animal shelter.
Roy"
Re: RE: Desert Tortoise faces threat from its own refuge
It is my understanding that you aren't allowed to charge any fees for the adoption of desert tortoises. I don't know if a government run organization is any different but that may be another reason why they've decided to just euthanize?
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Kerryann said:
It is my understanding that you aren't allowed to charge any fees for the adoption of desert tortoises. I don't know if a government run organization is any different but that may be another reason why they've decided to just euthanize?
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Some thinking out loud for perspective. In short - the situation is phucked-up.
But it is a collective problem of many people now hingeing on a government group of entities who are all legally bound to act within their slice of the pie called "the public interest".
Developers were acting within the law to mitigate their development by paying a fee ahead, or a fine in arrears, for using what is now former tortoises habitat. At least they paid something.
All those pet tortoises, the majority slated for euthanasia, were dropped off in a box at night, or brought in during the day, YES?
The drop off at night people are why they would probably not want to have an adoption program, I bet in the several years when adoptions were allowed, more than one healthy tortoise went out and came back sick. The drop off at night people gave up all rights to have a say in the matter, IMO.
The drop off at day people were, no doubt, required to sign something that said what would become of their now former pet. This probably included euthanasia as a last solution to maintaining healthy wild populations.
So that is how that accumulation of animals got there.
So now what to do with so many healthy and sick animals?
During the time that the DTCC has existed they have gotten very good at screening animals for disease and evaluating which individuals pass or fail the repatriation test. The USFWS statement that Kelly posted suggest that the healthy animals have a home.
So now what to do with all those sick animals, those that are not candidates for repatriation?
Give them out to people of which only a proportion really "get it" in terms of the responsibility? Those recycled pets I brought up(those adopted out by the DTCC and then later returned there) will now not have a good place to go, they will die, get released illegally, do real well, and or end up with people who might not have a long term perspective of responsible tortoise ownership. Maybe the animal shows no outward indication of disease but is a rampant carrier.
At the get-go the many ill tortoises were not going back to the wild, YES? So the sick ones were always going to end up being euthanized, many no doubt have been euthanized along the way. Vet's like all doctors are charged with the aim to reduce suffering, and euthanasia is a legitimate tool in that promise to reduce suffering.
One sick animal released into a viable healthy population will kill many others, the exact opposite of the charge of the government entites invloved as well as the vets who would be responsible for the daunting task of euthanasia.
I woud be the first to suggest Charles Lowe had a good point when he said in the late 1980's that the species is being 'overly managed' (my characterization of a more extensive quote).
So as often happens here on TFO, some personal comments will be made about this point of view, to me as if I am advocating euthanasia, I am not. But I also understand that given the choice of standing in feces over my head, a ten foot pool (euthanasia) is still more shallow than a 20 foot pool (repatriate sick animals directly, or via irresponsible pet owners (and I do know it would take but one carrier to kill a whole population)).
Just thinking out load here like a rational thought person who loves tortoises. For what it is worth, I have been a conservation advocate for longer than most of you have breathed air. I was a strong participant in the laws banning sea turtle based products in California before any larger laws like the ESA existed.
"The public interest" is usually for the left side of the bell curve people out there, not all the right side people like here on TFO.
Will
But it is a collective problem of many people now hingeing on a government group of entities who are all legally bound to act within their slice of the pie called "the public interest".
Developers were acting within the law to mitigate their development by paying a fee ahead, or a fine in arrears, for using what is now former tortoises habitat. At least they paid something.
All those pet tortoises, the majority slated for euthanasia, were dropped off in a box at night, or brought in during the day, YES?
The drop off at night people are why they would probably not want to have an adoption program, I bet in the several years when adoptions were allowed, more than one healthy tortoise went out and came back sick. The drop off at night people gave up all rights to have a say in the matter, IMO.
The drop off at day people were, no doubt, required to sign something that said what would become of their now former pet. This probably included euthanasia as a last solution to maintaining healthy wild populations.
So that is how that accumulation of animals got there.
So now what to do with so many healthy and sick animals?
During the time that the DTCC has existed they have gotten very good at screening animals for disease and evaluating which individuals pass or fail the repatriation test. The USFWS statement that Kelly posted suggest that the healthy animals have a home.
So now what to do with all those sick animals, those that are not candidates for repatriation?
Give them out to people of which only a proportion really "get it" in terms of the responsibility? Those recycled pets I brought up(those adopted out by the DTCC and then later returned there) will now not have a good place to go, they will die, get released illegally, do real well, and or end up with people who might not have a long term perspective of responsible tortoise ownership. Maybe the animal shows no outward indication of disease but is a rampant carrier.
At the get-go the many ill tortoises were not going back to the wild, YES? So the sick ones were always going to end up being euthanized, many no doubt have been euthanized along the way. Vet's like all doctors are charged with the aim to reduce suffering, and euthanasia is a legitimate tool in that promise to reduce suffering.
One sick animal released into a viable healthy population will kill many others, the exact opposite of the charge of the government entites invloved as well as the vets who would be responsible for the daunting task of euthanasia.
I woud be the first to suggest Charles Lowe had a good point when he said in the late 1980's that the species is being 'overly managed' (my characterization of a more extensive quote).
So as often happens here on TFO, some personal comments will be made about this point of view, to me as if I am advocating euthanasia, I am not. But I also understand that given the choice of standing in feces over my head, a ten foot pool (euthanasia) is still more shallow than a 20 foot pool (repatriate sick animals directly, or via irresponsible pet owners (and I do know it would take but one carrier to kill a whole population)).
Just thinking out load here like a rational thought person who loves tortoises. For what it is worth, I have been a conservation advocate for longer than most of you have breathed air. I was a strong participant in the laws banning sea turtle based products in California before any larger laws like the ESA existed.
"The public interest" is usually for the left side of the bell curve people out there, not all the right side people like here on TFO.
Will
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