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TC PALM (Stuart, Florida) 14 April 06 Letter to the editor: Tortoise killers drive bulldozers through laws and unknown 'tests' (Laura Guttridge)
One can only imagine the terror of being buried alive, the terror of repeated attempts to be free, only to be confronted again and again by concrete.
Yet developers in Florida have been allowed to do this to gopher tortoises for years by simply purchasing the "correct" permits. These helpless animals are faced with the most horrifying and lingering deaths because developers do not want to be bothered by doing the right thing.
What is the right thing? How about relocation? Unfortunately, under current law this doesn't always work because, to be relocated, all the tortoises on the proposed site must test negative for upper respiratory disease. Even if only a small percent of tortoises on a proposed site test positive, they can all be condemned to a horrible death.
This is the developers' loophole to bulldoze these helpless creatures.
I have made repeated attempts to find out who does the actual testing and exactly how they reach their conclusions. No one can give me an answer. I was left wondering who is in charge of this "testing," and how accurate it really is.
Can there be a solution? I believe so. Officials can designate a natural segment on the proposed site, maybe around a reservoir. If that's not possible, at the very least, a veterinarian should humanely euthanize the condemned tortoises.
One of Florida's main attractions is its natural beauty and wildlife. If we bulldoze over everything, not only will we kill the tortoises, but we will eventually kill what makes Florida so unique and beautiful.
To allow these animals to die such pitiful deaths is a black eye on the state of Florida. All of those responsible for this should do the right thing and care enough to help to put a stop to it.
Laura Guttridge, Vero Beach
http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/letters_to_the_editor/article/0,,TCP_24461_4619972,00.html