Hi,

I have recently begun an online petition to encourage the Pets at Home chain to review their current initiative of selling live tortoises in their stores.

The petition states only one thing, that Pets at Home sell tortoises. This is a true statement. I'm asking them to reconsider or at the very least to ensure accurate advice is provided.

There is no reference to any incidence of mistreatment, mismangement or illegality in the sale of their tortoises within my petiton. It is a plea to ask Pets at Home to reconsider.

If you are intersted in viewing, or better still signing, my petition it can be found at:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/pets-at-home-uk---selling-tortoises

Many thanks for your interest. All the best to you and your tortoises.

Hi Dave,

Many thanks for posting the link to your petition on here and on our Yahoo forum. I fully support your petition and would encourage our members to sign it. I've posted a message on the Yahoo forum, and with apologies to those who might read it twice, I am posting it here as well:

There is no need for Pets at Home to
sell tortoises, and the ones they do sell will almost certainly be imported from abroad, having to endure a stressful journey to the UK, and then a period of time in the shop, mixed with other tortoises that
might be carrying disease (I doubt that PaH will observe the reccommended period of at least six months quarantine before
displaying a tortoise in their shops, along with other tortoises).

There is an excellent niche in the market for pet shops to sell equipment to
support pet keepers (lights, reflectors, heaters, thermostats, water dishes,
tortoise tables (not vivariums!), Nutrobal, hides, the new booklet on tortoise
keeping from the Tortoise Trust, etc.) -- they do not have to sell animals to
stay in business.

Nina