Government plans to euthanize hundreds of threatened desert tortoises it was supposed to protect
Posted on 08/27/2013 5:30:07 PM PDT by kevcol
The sheltered existence of hundreds of desert tortoises will come to a sad and tragic end in early 2014.
A lack of funds at The Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, located outside Las Vegas, Nevada, will cause the sanctuary to close its doors and euthanize about half of its 1,400 tortoise residents, reports the Associated Press.
The facility was created in 1990 when the overdevelopment—namely McMansions, solar plants, and strip malls—of the turtles' native habitats caused the critters to be put on the endangered species list.
The center previously upheld a $1 million annual budget, mostly fueled by "raking in funds from fees imposed on real estate developers who chose to build on the tortoises' habitats," reports the AP. But the housing market collapse in 2008 caused that fund pipeline to dry up. And, as a result, The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) simply can't allocate any more money for another year.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Government plans to euthanize hundreds of threatened desert tortoises it was supposed to protect
Once they are exposed to humans, they might get a bad disease.
Therefore they are ‘toxic’ and can’t go back into the wild.
(Suppressed mega-barfing)
Used to be a 20 THOUSAND dollar fine for picking one up.
Why can’t they simply release them?
Could it be that they would be not endangered anymore and they could not be used as pawns by environmentalists?
You're next, America.
So there is NOWHERE in the vast unpopulated west to turn them loose?
Start killing the Ravens in the desert and the Desert Tortoise might stand a chance.
As it is now, the damnable Migratory Species Act protects the black bastards and they’re responsible for the wholesale slaughter of the tortoises in my neck of the woods.
Envirowhacko created conundrums...stupid.
They sound like self-righteous libs who believe the turtles can't survive without their care and good intentions.
Too used to government handouts to survive on their own.
Socialist Eco-cult melt down.
A familiar tragedy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRfDE9bndfg&feature=player_detailpage
What will this mean for the end of food stamps?
Just a little preview of CommieCare. All these programs work the same way.
Someone in Ohio needs to contact Jack Hanna & show him this idiotic story.
Tortoises commonly carry salmonella, so it’s possible to transfer the disease from an infected animal to one that isn’t.
There was more to it. All of it having to do with power and money.
That particular dysfunction is easily cured, thus negating the need for million dollar dirt plots and the financial rape of businesses/land closure.
Oh, wait .... that would require effort.
They look almost just like Florida Gopher Tortoises which were nearly wiped out during the depression.
Tortoises make good pets. I had a pet Gopher tortoise when I was a small boy. It only took two or three days to train him to come out of his hole by placing green peas still in their shell right outside his entrance. After leaving the peas you blow in the hole and pat the ground then leave.
About the fourth time you stay, The tortoise will blow at you and try to make a weak looking attack then in a couple more days you can pick him up and play with him.
When you are tired of playing with him you put him back in his hole. He will then always come out when you blow and pat tho you need to always have some food for him.
I painted my initials on mine and many years later would still see him.
Just give the surplus away. They make good pets.
Florida Gopher Tortoise.
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