A tortoise cared for by an 81-year-old widow has become the centre of a bizarre “tug of love” battle, after it wandered out of her garden.Cue heartstrings…
A neighbour found the tortoise and unknowingly handed it to the RSPCA which rehomed it.And the local newspaper is full of condemnation for this woman.
Now its new owner has refused point blank to give Little Tortoise up.
Meanwhile, Big Tortoise is pining for its companion and is refusing to eat.
Mrs Allen has written to the woman via the RSPCA and the charity has also beseeched her to give the tortoise back.
But she will not.
But, hold up a minute here:
A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said it had been in extensive contact with the new owner, to persuade her to give up Little Tortoise.Say what…?
She explained: “We have asked her to rehome two other tortoises in the past, which she has given back, when their original owners made contact with us.
“But this time she said no.
This is the third time she has received a tortoise from you, only to have you say ‘Whoops! Sorry, but…’?
Well, that puts a bit of a different complexion on things, doesn’t it? It’s no wonder she isn’t willing to put up with this yet again.
The spokeswoman added: “We have even offered her another tortoise, but she refuses and legally, she is perfectly entitled to.”You mean, you’ve offered her another tortoise that might well turn out to belong to someone else, just like the last three you’ve given her?
Yeah, can see why she didn’t snap your hand off with that offer…
7 comments:
I am sure you will be relieved to know Julia that the story has a Happy Ending
Although not for the person who had to give back yet another tortoise
Would not the law on lost and found items be applicable here? If I find something on the street (a ring for example) I cannot just claim it, and sell it. If I did, and the real owner found out, they would be able to get the ring back from the purchaser, who would not have gained true title as the seller didn't have true title either.
You have to report found items to the police, and after a certain time has passed, it will become yours. Did the RSPCA do this?
"Although not for the person who had to give back yet another tortoise."
Indeed.
"Would not the law on lost and found items be applicable here?"
Apparently not. This seems to happen in lost animal cases quite a lot.
Makes me wary of ever offering to rehome a stray, though we have done in the past.
I don't know the details in this case but I would have thought the RSPCA hasn't got the facilities to temporarily house all the strays and so uses volunteers. This isn't the same thing as providing a permanent home.
"a bizarre “tug of love” battle"
Was it some sort of rampant sex-tortoise?
Was it some sort of rampant sex-tortoise?
If you are an 81 yr old widow,it could appear that way....
Animals are treated differently from inanimate objects because it costs money to look after them.
In the specific case of dogs there's a definite procedure to follow - you must report a found dog to the local authority dog warden and if the owner doesn't make contact within 7 days they can legally kill it (in practice, they would normally try to rehome it or pass it on to an animal charity).
The law on other species is a lot more vague, but accepted practice is that you should put up a notice where the animal was found saying that it will be rehomed if the owner doesn't claim it within 14 days. You can try letting the police know, but frankly they will usually feel they've got more urgent things to worry about unless the animal is large or valuable.
My guess (with absolutely no inside knowledge other than that ordinary "cat and dog" RSPCA volunteers are required to place reptiles with suitable experts within 48 hrs) is that the person receiving the tortoises was a reptile expert who regularly took them in (i.e. it wouldn't be a random person who just fancied having a tortoise & has now been disappointed 3 times).
The 48 hr rule is because most reptiles need special care & equipment.
If the reptile expert was opinionated about suitable living conditions for tortoises you can see how difficulties might arise if the original owner had different ideas.
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