Keystone Species Needs Your Help

[corbett]

The gopher tortoise is a very interesting species in Florida. Seldom traveling more than a few hundred feet from its birthplace, this beautiful reptile has a bullseye painted on its shell and bulldozers often aim right for it.

After decades of the barbaric process of entombing the tortoises, which can suffer horribly for months as they whither and ultimately die, Florida finally has taken concrete steps to end the process. However, because this type of mass killing was completely legal, the state government allows for further killing based on permits which were issued before the ban.

It's a form of grandfathering which will keep thousands of tortoises from becoming grandfathers and grandmothers.

You can help!

If you live in Florida or know someone who does, complete the Humane Society petition at

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FL_2007_tortoises3

The process will take just a few minutes and has the potential to prevent a great deal of suffering.