Ploughshares in China, sea turtles in Pakistan, the uncontrollable market in Indonesia, even in my country that's in EU and forced to adopt EU strict regulations, countless greek tortoises (CITES Appendix I) kept dehydrated in sad enclosures are sold in pet stores for $20 each. It's 2021 but unfortunately most of the planet still lives in the wild west.
Asking the OP to "report the seller to the authorities immediately!" is extremely naive and counterproductive. The authorities are well aware of the situation in their country. They are simply incapable of stopping the trade, unwilling, or most likely both. The authorities are the ones that should be reported, no the pet store. Unfortunately, instead of doing the right thing by regulating the trade of captive bred animals and help increase their population, most of these countries took the easy path of completely banning the trade of tortoises on paper and turning a blind eye on what's really going on.
I don't know if the forum will be legally liable for giving advice on how to care for these animals or our conscience is what set this forum rule. If it's the latter then I suggest we put this rule aside for the sake of these rare precious animals.
By not discouraging these posts we help expose the problem so one day someone actually does something meaningful about it instead of burying it like most authorities do.
Asking the OP to "report the seller to the authorities immediately!" is extremely naive and counterproductive. The authorities are well aware of the situation in their country. They are simply incapable of stopping the trade, unwilling, or most likely both. The authorities are the ones that should be reported, no the pet store. Unfortunately, instead of doing the right thing by regulating the trade of captive bred animals and help increase their population, most of these countries took the easy path of completely banning the trade of tortoises on paper and turning a blind eye on what's really going on.
I don't know if the forum will be legally liable for giving advice on how to care for these animals or our conscience is what set this forum rule. If it's the latter then I suggest we put this rule aside for the sake of these rare precious animals.
By not discouraging these posts we help expose the problem so one day someone actually does something meaningful about it instead of burying it like most authorities do.