Volunteers Stop Bulldozers from Burying Tortoises Alive

[Terry Allan Hall]

Volunteers Stop Bulldozers from Burying Tortoises Alive

by Laura Simpson
July 6, 2012
11:40 pm

I have been a volunteer for the Vero Beach Humane Society for many years. As a volunteer, I got notice from them that a 38 acre site in Vero Beach was under construction. Unfortunately, this land was the home to dozens of the endangered gopher tortoises. A controversial state law in Florida allows developers to pay into a land management program, and then plow over gopher tortoise burrows condemning the tortoises inside to a slow death. The entombed tortoise can live for up to 6 months underground before dying of starvation and suffocation.

Typically citizens are not allowed to re-locate gopher tortoises. However, The Florida Fish and Wildlife conservation commission changed its rules, putting aside the required complicated permitting process typically required before relocating gopher tortoises, so we could rescue them.

Ilka Daniels, director of outreach services for the VBHS, spearheaded the efforts, and for the first time regular citizens were allowed to relocate the endangered gopher tortoises. We would wake up early every morning and search the site for wandering tortoises, and we also set up bucket traps to catch them, so we could get them out of harms way. We even excavated burrows, digging deep into their tunnels to find them. One tortoise we rescued was injured and needed to be rehabilitated. All the others we were able to find and save were measured, weighed, numbered and photographed before being sent to a holding pen, until they could be release into their new 18 acre preserve. They would be taken outside daily to roam in the Florida sunshine and eat fresh grass while they waited to be released into their new home.

At the end of our rescue, which took months, we managed to saved 31 of the endangered gopher tortoises. Private land owners can actually be provided with financial incentives by establishing tortoise preserves. Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to get to know one of these amazing animals would agree that they are certainly worth saving. I am honored to have had the opportunity to help give these animals a new lease on life.

Brought to you by The Great Animal Rescue Chase & Harmony Fund

http://www.care2.com/causes/volunte...om-burying-tortoises-alive.html#ixzz1zwDs9hvh

 

[Laura]

awsome.. I hope there were no nests destroyed...

 

[wellington]

Great save. But how in the world do they justify bull dozing know homes to the endangered species and not giving a damn that they are there, being buried, to die a slow horrible death. How easy to stick their paperwork up their you know what in these situations and give these groups, volunteers, to come in a few days before hand to search for as many torts as they can find and just move them, and do the stinking paper work some other day. Man stuff like that just makes me sick. People wonder why I like animals more then humans, duh. I hope that article puts a bug up peoples asses in Florida and wakes them up to do a little more fighting to uphold the animals rights, whether endangered or not, but especially the endangered. Do they get what that means over there. They don't want people to own them, but they don't care if you bull dozer them to their death. Sick S.O.B.'s
Vent over, maybe. Bad day with humans, ugh

 

[l0velesly]

It makes me happy to hear that there are people out there helping them out! It still makes me sad that they would even bulldoze through them and then they would go through a long, painful death.
Thank you for volunteering!

 

[ascott]

Unfortunately it is not just Florida that offer the same fate....most of the solar plants here in the high desert sit atop what was once prime CDT habitat....I can imagine the horror that happens before anyone gets caught plowing through the areas inhabited by these torts and all of the other life that is disregarded.....I know that when I speak with folks that run heavy equipment for construction sites it is common place for folks that operate the equipment to have anger towards the tortoise -----it is rather sickening.....

I am happy those 31 were at least saved...not much can be done for any remaining once the machinery settles in....

 

[wellington]

I still don't understand, how this country, can let this happen to an animal they put on the endangered list themselves. To any animal, period. It just sickens me. I thought this country was better then that when it came to finally figuring out the love for animals most of the people here have. I know they may not be able to save them all. But how much would it really harm or cost, if they gave the rescues a heads up, before the sight work was started. The rescues could go in, rescue as many as possible and get out the day before the work was to start. No cost to anyone owning or working on the sight.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

I still don't understand, how this country, can let this happen to an animal they put on the endangered list themselves. To any animal, period. It just sickens me. I thought this country was better then that when it came to finally figuring out the love for animals most of the people here have. I know they may not be able to save them all. But how much would it really harm or cost, if they gave the rescues a heads up, before the sight work was started. The rescues could go in, rescue as many as possible and get out the day before the work was to start. No cost to anyone owning or working on the sight.

Putting the correct amount of $$$ in the correct hand is really all it takes...

 

[Jacqui]

But how much would it really harm or cost, if they gave the rescues a heads up, before the sight work was started. The rescues could go in, rescue as many as possible and get out the day before the work was to start. No cost to anyone owning or working on the sight.

You did notice this rescue took months to collect the animals, a lot of times the folks buying the land want to have the land developed as quickly as possible, because time is money. Atleast give Florida credit for "Private land owners can actually be provided with financial incentives by establishing tortoise preserves". How many places have something like that?