ADOPTING A TURTLE OR TORTOISE FROM THE TORTOISE TRUST

The Tortoise Trust regularly receives tortoises and turtles in need of a new home.

If you need to FIND A NEW HOME FOR A TORTOISE please click here.

These animals are not sold, but are re-homed to the best homes and best qualified keepers we can find. There are a number of important points you must understand, however, before applying to receive such animals. Please read these 10 points carefully before filling in the online application form:

1. We can (with very few exceptions) only rehome within the UK. If you are in the USA please do not apply via the Tortoise Trust. Apply instead to our colleagues at www.turtlehomes.org

2. Many animals are customs seizures. These animals must never be sold, and we must be notified before they are passed on to any other party. Customs may charge a small fee in regard to the paperwork involved in adopting such animals.

3. We must be satisfied that you have adequate facilities and have an adequate level of knowledge to care for all adopted animals to the required standard. Preference is given to persons who have pre-qualified by taking a Tortoise Trust Workshop on Captive Husbandry or who are enroled in our online course. You can find out more about the online course by visiting www.ttinstitute.co.uk

4. If you have not taken (or are taking) an approved course, we may ask you to complete a much more detailed application in order to fully assess your knowledge of chelonian husbandry. We may waive this requirement for well-established keepers with excellent bona-fides at our discretion.

5. We do not rehome to persons involved in the commercial reptile trade under any circumstances. If you breed and sell nothing apart from your own captive-bred animals you are a private breeder and still qualify. If you obtain animals from third parties and then sell them you are a dealer and do not qualify.

6. You may be required to organise personal collection of animals. In the UK we cannnot legally ship or despatch animals by courier or delivery services. You must be prepared to travel to collect.

7. We do not charge a fee for adopting animals.

8. You will be responsible for any subsequent veterinary costs that may be incurred, unless we are fully consulted IN ADVANCE and give consent for such treatment either at our expense or directly by one of our  own veterinarians. It does help if you have a good relationship with a specialist veterinarian. We must be notified if an animal is ill in any event. We can often provide (free) advice and support.

9. Animals that are rehomed remain the legal property of the Tortoise Trust. If you can no longer care for them, we must be notified and we may require their return. We retain the right to recall animals if we have reason to believe that they are in danger or are not being cared for adequately. You may not transfer custody to any other person without our prior permission in writing.

10. You must complete all the questions on our online form. The more detail you can provide the better. We also like to see photographs of your existing set-ups and housing, etc. These can be emailed to us at tortoisetrust@aol.com in JPEG format (no larger than 75K, please) or sent to our rehoming secretary who may ask for them. 

11. You MUST BE A FULL MEMBER OF THE TORTOISE TRUST in order to apply to adopt. You must REMAIN A FULL MEMBER for the entire period you have Tortoise Trust animals in your care. There are no exceptions to this.

12. Please DO NOT email us to offer a home UNLESS you are a full member AND have a completed application ON FILE ALREADY. We regret we cannot reply unless this is the case.

STOP!! ARE YOU A FULL, CURRENT AND PAID-UP MEMBER? IF NOT, DO NOT APPLY YET. APPLICATIONS FROM NON-MEMBERS WILL BE REJECTED. YOU MUST BE AN ESTABLISHED MEMBER TO ADOPT A TORTOISE OR TURTLE FROM THE TORTOISE TRUST.

Privacy Policy Statement

We are committed to protecting your privacy and maintaining the security of any personal information received from you. We strictly adhere to the requirements of the data protection legislation in the UK. We are registered as a Data Controller under the UK Data Protection Act.

The purpose of this statement is to explain to you what personal information we collect and how we may use it.

2 When you your register for our newsletter we ask you for your name and adresss. If you register online we also ask for an email address and telephone number. The only information we retain is your name and mailing address. We do not retain your telephone number or email address for any longer than needed to ensure your subscription is processed correctly. Those details are then erased from our system. If you are applying to adopt, we need to know what species you keep and other details that permit us to contact you and assess your application.

3 We use your personal information to send you our newsletter or other relevant materials by mail, or to contact you by telephone or email in the case of adoption applications.

4 We do not sell, rent , give or exchange your personal information with any third party for any reason whatsoever.

5 We follow strict security procedures in the storage and disclosure of information which you have given us, to prevent unauthorised access in accordance with the UK data protection legislation.

We do not collect sensitive information about you except when you specifically knowingly provide it, for example if adopting or applying to adopt an animal. We will remove such data at any time if you ask us to.

6 We will not transfer your information outside the EEA (European Economic Area) without first obtaining your consent.

7 If you have any questions about privacy please contact us at: tortoisetrust@aol.com

8. Our nominated Data Controller is Chelonian Educational Resources Limited .who run our courses and administer our membership and office system.