Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Estrades, A., & Bauzá, A. , Breaking myths, implementation of the first tortoise and freshwater turtle educational program in uruguay. Paper presented at Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting.
Added by: Admin (13 Dec 2008 22:23:39 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: Estrades2007a View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Habitat = habitat, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Südamerika = South America Creators: Bauzá, Estrades Collection: Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting |
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| Abstract |
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In Uruguay, people have two contradictorily attitudes toward turtles in their environment: either they kill the turtles believing them to be poisonous or they take them home as pets. Estimations indicate that the annual mortality of pet turtles and tortoises reaches thousands. Most of them occur due to dog bites, poor nutrition and inadequate captive husbandry. In January of 2004, Karumbé created the Turtle and Tortoise Refuge, with the aim of receiving pets abandoned by their former owners. To further address this problem, we established an Environmental Awareness Program to inform the general public regarding biological characteristics of and threats to the native freshwater species as well as problems associated with exotic tortoise species. In addition to providing a safe and healthy environment, turtles at the refuge have a fundamental mission: changing the public’s perception of them. Since the creation of the refuge we have been transmitting our vision to more than 12,000 visitors yearly. Additionally, a web site has been implemented in order to provide free information about Uruguayan species. It is the first web site of this kind in our country. Scheduled activities for the next years include the development of educational materials, such as pamphlets, posters, activity booklets, and general information literature. This material will be specially focused on children. In the future we expect to expand our activities, adding visits to rural localities of our country, providing informational games and presentations. We also plan to place information in the main markets addressing the issue of illegal sale. The utilization of mass communication will be an important diffusion tool to be added in an immediate future. Last, we will strongly encourage the government to include our native species in public educational programs, so that children of Uruguay become more aware of these important species of our country.
Added by: Admin |