The trade in tortoises from tourist countries is still large!

Greek and Moorish tortoises are CITES A animals and therefore fall under protected species. This CITES legislation was created precisely to ensure that no animals are caught from the wild and traded. In the Netherlands you would therefore think that there are mainly newborn animals kept, but nothing is less true.....

This horrible photo was taken by Floor on a regular market in Morocco. And unfortunately there is still everything allowed.... For a small amount of on average 2 euros you can buy a small tortoise here.

Many tourists who travel to North Africa take a turtle with them to the Netherlands without thinking twice. Also closer, such as Turkey, Italy and Greece, many baby tortoises are sold that have been caught from the wild.

In addition to taking an animal with you, which comes illegally to the Netherlands and can bring diseases, you risk a high fine, because you have bought a protected animal species.

But above all, the picture speaks for itself; the animal suffering behind this is enormous.

Animals are caught from the wild, kept in these kinds of cages and sold to anyone who passes by.

This year we received several small turtles, most of them deadly ill, from these kinds of markets.

All the animals that entered were taken by people who had no idea what they had done and just took such an animal back in the car, making it almost impossible for customs to intercept them. Often the animals do not want to eat because of the stress, a totally strange environment for them...

A number of animals have come to us, but how many die anonymously in these kinds of cages? Or suffer enormously from the trip and then the ignorance in care once in the Netherlands.

It is very important not to cooperate with (selling) if you find something like this abroad. No matter how pathetic, by buying such an animal you keep the trade in place.

Also, if you want to buy a turtle here in the Netherlands, always ask for the original CITES certificate and ask the CITES office of the Dutch government to verify this. This is to avoid buying a turtle that has been caught out of the wild where they actually belong!