Implications for Conservation of Collection of Mediterranean Spur-Thighed Tortoise as Pets in Morocco: Residents' Perceptions, Habits, and Knowledge.

ABSTRACT: The trading and collection of wild animals as pets may be cause for concern regarding animal welfare and species conservation. These concerns can be exemplified by Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca), a long-living species whose use as pets is long established. The human dimension plays a major role in the wildlife for the pet collection, and is particularly important in countries like Morocco, where this might pose a threat to the conservation of the species involved. This study, which is based on a questionnaire survey (n = 480 participants), documents the fact that many people in Morocco keep tortoises as pets: 55% of the participants in the survey and over two tortoises/person. Importantly, most captive tortoises, particularly juveniles, had been collected direc

SUBMITTER: Segura A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7070921 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature