Press Release For More Information Contact: Ray Ashton
352-495-7449 or Tortfarm2@aol.com
Petition Urges Halt to URTD Testing on Gopher Tortoises
The Ashton Biodiversity Research and Preservation Institute and the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative are encouraging all reptile veterinarians to sign a petition urging the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to halt URTD testing in Gopher Tortoises. Upper Respiratory Tract Disease (URTD) in Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) is caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma agassizii and was long thought to be spread by the introduction of sick animals into healthy populations and to result in high mortality in infected populations. However, continued study indicates that while URTD causes some infected tortoises to die, it is not necessarily fatal to entire populations. Testing does not provide protection from spreading URTD or any of the other diseases that tortoises have. Ironically, the relocation of tortoise populations may be causing high levels of stress and the resulting immunocompromise that leaves tortoises susceptible to URTDs. Current FWC policy relies on the time consuming trapping and testing processes, which pushes many developers into paying for a TAKE permit allowing them to contribute funds toward the purchase of gopher tortoise habitat elsewhere in return for the destruction of the tortoise populations on their land.
The petition recommends that the FWC establish a policy that requires a relatively simple heath assessment be made on any tortoises being moved from a donor site and that no sick or dying tortoise be moved from that site into another tortoise population. Guidelines for health assessment need to be established and utilized in evaluating gopher tortoises to be moved. It further recommends that all relocations to recipient sites reflect current data that calls for habitat management for forage and provides ample space, management, and protection of the tortoises in perpetuity.
Ashton Biodiversity Research and Preservation Institute, Inc.
Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative
14260-331 W. Newberry Rd.
Newberry, FL 32669
Tortfarm2@aol.com
http://www.ashtonbiodiversity.org/
352-495-7449 Phone
352-495-7433 Fax | 
