They are victims of their good nature and their sympathy.
Fashionable pets, turtles are unfortunately too often abandoned by their owners who get tired of them.
A phenomenon which has increased in recent years as noted by the Turtle Refuge, in Bessières (Haute-Garonne) which welcomed in 2023 almost 315 more individuals compared to the previous year.
“They gain support from the general public but this backfires because people who buy a turtle on impulse have no reality of the commitment it is to have an animal,” confides Jérôme, bitterly. Maran, president of the Turtle Refuge association.
Pet stores and lobbying arouse the desire of people to buy turtles, but once they grow up, people realize that they have to change the aquarium or terrarium, which is expensive.
After the euphoria of the first months, they get tired and abandon them.”
60 years of life expectancy
At the top of the most abandoned turtles are those from Florida, water turtles sold en masse in pet stores until their ban in 1997. With a longevity of up to 60 years, they become cumbersome when their owners die or move abroad.
Other species such as wild African turtles are also collected at the Refuge which has nearly 1,500 turtles.
“This wild species is collected in Africa, which is scandalous, since many are then abandoned in the wild even though they are sensitive to low temperatures and can transmit diseases,” explains Jérôme Maran.
If a turtle is discovered in the wild, you must contact a specialized shelter.