25/08/2026
We have been contacted by more than one highly experienced tortoise and turtle rehabber in California, people we have known and trusted for years, with impeccable backgrounds in this field, also expressing grave concerns about what is going on at a particular sanctuary and rescue centre in the Western United States. We have also been informed that people associated with this place have been posting screenshots from our private members-only FB group in other groups... well, feel free to go ahead with that because we stand by absolutely everything we have said. We are making it easy for you by posting our concerns here too. We have made no "accusations" but we have expressed genuine concerns and have asked highly relevant questions. They appear not to welcome these. The questions are exactly the same as we would ask of ANY rescue centre or sanctuary that operates policies that involve accepting a wide range of mixed species in apparently unlimited numbers, including sensitive endangered native species and at the same time pet trade animals of unknown origins and history, all to be kept in the same location. This is genuinely dangerous as there is a clear and present risk of intra-species cross contagion with bacterial, fungal or vital pathogens. Quarantine would have to be absolutely beyond reproach and effectively "bullet proof". Otherwise, in our opinion, the risks outweigh any possible benefits. We have personally seen such consequences. Viral diseases, especially, in large concentrations of tortoises and turtles can be absolutely devastating. We have also dealt with large illegal seizures, sometime involving up to 600 animals at a time. Various species, from Testudo kleinmanni on the ground in Egypt, to Leopard, Sulcata, Hingeback and Testudo species confiscated in Europe. It is incredibly demanding, and it only takes one single mistake to turn a bad situation into an outright disaster. In most cases, you do not even know what pathogens some of these animals might be carrying. It might not be very contagious or infectious, on the other hand it might be the exact opposite. You cannot even test for some of these as they may never have been seen before (this was the case with chelonian picornavirus some years ago, for example) and no viable tests will exist. There is also no entirely safe quarantine period. It does not exist. Some very serious diseases have very long incubation periods and passive asymptomatic carriers are common. We are personally aware of a Leopard tortoise that developed an active Chelonian Herpes-virus disease more than 10 years after any possible contact with others. Meanwhile, for at least some of that time it would have been shedding virus that could have been transmitted to others. You have to assume the worst and handle them accordingly. If you have these animals in the open air, there is NO QUARANTINE. That simple. Birds, flies, beetles, small mammals..water runoff during rains... any single one of these could carry a potentially lethal pathogen from one animal or one enclosure area to another. Enclosures also need to be physically separated - the greater the separation the better - and simply having wooden boards between animals or groups of animals is not even remotely adequate. This is reality and is no exaggeration. Every single rescue or sanctuary needs to consider this very carefully. You cannot simply ignore it and hope for the best. We have all seen what can happen with bird flu for example. Then, another major issue, how is it feasible for any sanctuary or rescue to have a policy of continuing to accept literally hundreds of tortoises without ever rehoming any of them? Especially so with large species such as Sulcata and Leopards. We cannot begin to imagine how that is remotely viable, especially if you need to maintain an acceptable level of biosecurity and maintain good general standards of hygiene, dietary management and monitoring with limited staff or volunteers?. We simply do not understand how this is possible but if anyone does have a rational and viable explanation, we would be very willing to listen. Image: The consequences of a highly contagious viral disease in a pet trade Leopard tortoise, Stigmochelys pardalis. This tortoise was asymptomatic for 10 years, demonstrating the challenges of quarantine in such cases. Today, testing for some conditions is possible, but the costs can be prohibitive with large numbers involved and tests do not exist for all possible conditions. This tortoise did not survive.
