$1million/yr govt funded facility:
Posted on 08/27/2013 5:30:07 PM PDT by kevcol
The sheltered existence of hundreds of desert tortoises will come to a sad and tragic end in early 2014.
A lack of funds at The Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, located outside Las Vegas, Nevada, will cause the sanctuary to close its doors and euthanize about half of its 1,400 tortoise residents, reports the Associated Press.
The facility was created in 1990 when the overdevelopment—namely McMansions, solar plants, and strip malls—of the turtles' native habitats caused the critters to be put on the endangered species list.
The center previously upheld a $1 million annual budget, mostly fueled by "raking in funds from fees imposed on real estate developers who chose to build on the tortoises' habitats," reports the AP. But the housing market collapse in 2008 caused that fund pipeline to dry up. And, as a result, The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) simply can't allocate any more money for another year.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Soup’s on.
Insane
Sounds like the abortion argument.
“If we can’t keep them, they must be killed.”
That’s a lot of tortoise soup .... I guess Harry Reid can have a few of his fellow lawyers and crony capitalists over for supper.
Why euthanize them — start turning them loose — and then go find a real job.
For those unaware (most) the BLM claims that there is a disease spread by contact with the DTs. I once made a ranger blow a gasket asking him who these turtle touchers that searched endlessly running from one RARE (right) tortoise to another touching them inappropriately and giving them turtle herpes.
He was not amused. I laughed a lot. Many of us off roaders did.
THAT is why this favility exists. No joke.
Desert tortoises are an endangered species. I fail to see why they have to euthanize half of their stock. Why can’t they simply release them?
Trust us, we'll take care of you.
close its doors and euthanize about half of its 1,400 tortoise residents, reports the Associated Press.
They are desert tortoises, right? They can survive in the desert, right? Oh wait - I guess they are now dependent on gov’t handouts and can’t survive on their own anymore. Wonder how many of them are registered rats and voted for Dingy Harry?.
Tortoises live in small, well-defined ranges. Remove them from that range and release them somewhere else and they will spend the rest of their lives trying to find their way back to their home range. Letting these poor critters go is probably a death sentence, too.
It says something about half of them being sickly or old. This story is less than clear, but the only thing I can think of is they were injured or recovering at this place?
Freegards
“I fail to see why they have to euthanize half of their stock. Why can’t they simply release them?”
I think you missed the message. “If you don’t give us more funding, then we’ll kill the turtles.” It’s like saying, “If you don’t fund this (program, project, plan) then hundreds (thousands, millions) of CHILDREN will suffer and die.” (Not just die, but suffer and die.)
” mostly fueled by “raking in funds from fees imposed on real estate developers who chose to build on the tortoises’ habitats,”
So the solar farms are gone? Since these government approved rapists of the land, the solar and wind farms are still using the tortoises habitat let them pay for the facility. I find it incredible that the Eco Nazis go rabid over average Americans using the desert for recreation but it’s OK for “GREEN” businesses to rape the land and displace or destroy the wildlife.
Are the tortises nobama-minority and can’t survive on their own in the desert? DESERT tortises...DUH!
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