Tortoises Illegal in Saskatchewan??

[gfisher2002]

Yesterday at work my boss told me that he was talking to some guy around Pike Lake who has a small Reptile Zoo thing. He keeps snakes and needed a zoo permit to have some of them. He told my boss that tortoises are illegal in Saskatchewan. He said he checked into it a while ago and could not obtain permits to keep them unless under his "zoo".

Is this true? Anyone who knows please help me out here. I am NOT parting with my torts. No matter what!!

Garrett

[Nicky]

even if they are illegal don;t give up ur tortoises as long as ur taking good care of them i doubt they'll check ur house.

[Ron]

Give Ryan and Sheila a shout, they'll let you know.

[gfisher2002]

They got a hold of me. Problem solved. Thanks Ryan.

[gfisher2002]

This info is not from Ryan (just for the record, lol). From what I've been told and what I've researched online, tortoises and turtles are usually put in the same catagory when it comes to banning. So the Saskatchewan laws governing the sale and importing of turtles under 4" applies to tortoises as well. Of course this excludes turtles/torts for educational or display purposes. However, captive bred species follow a different set of rules which I'm working on finding out right now. Tomorrow I'll make some calls to inquire as to the rules governing CB torts here in the Province.

[Scales Zoo]

There is no Saskatchewan law I am aware of governing turtles or tortoises under 4''.

There still is a law in the U.S. about the 4'' thing, I do beleive, but am not aware of any law in Canada using a size rule on turtles and tortoises.

Importing any turtle or tortoise into Canada requires permits by Canadian Food Inspection Agency, but importing one to Saskatchewan, from another province, only requires a captive wildlife import permit (it is free and is required for any reptile imported into the province), which we have gotten for the turtles and tortoises we keep at our home, which is outside of the scope of the zoo permit we have for the facility downtown.

For more information regarding Saskatchewan laws, look here http://www.geocities.com/hissca/laws.html

Ryan

[Scales Zoo]

For the record, the official answer from the head office is:

All turtles and tortoises are legal to keep in Saskatchewan, as long as they were bought in Saskatchewan, or accompanied with a provincial import permit (which is free - apply 2 weeks early from your local SERM office) if purchased or brought from out of Province.

Ryan

[zhiv9]

Importation of any CITES listed turtle or tortoise species(most if not all tortoises) requires CITES permits as well.

[Ron]

Originally posted by Scales Zoo
Importing any turtle or tortoise into Canada requires permits by Canadian Food Inspection Agency


Hey Ryan,

Does that statement mean you can import turtles into Canada?

Ron

[Scales Zoo]

Yes you can import turtles and tortoises into Canada. You just need some paper (to do it legally).

For a long time, people were hesitant to apply for a permit. They used to only issue them for research and display purposes.

They can inspect your facility before hand, but I've heard from 4 people who have legally imported turtles and tortoises with the CFIA permits, for their own collection.

I also know a few people who have moved into Canada, from another country, with their turtles and tortoises.

You can't resell the turtles that were imported, but the permit can give you permission to breed and sell the offspring, from what I have been told by a CFIA biologist.

And, as was mentioned, most (i think it may be all) tortoises require CITES paperwork to import into Canada.

Ryan

[Ron]

Thanks Ryan, do you mind emailing or PM me with the names of the people you know who legally imported turles into Canada?

[red bootz]

From what I understand, all members of the genus testudinidae (tortoises) are listed under CITES Appendix II , If not already listed as Appendix I. Appendix II chelonians need BOTH the CFIA permit as well as the proper CITES documentation in order to import them.
Most other chelonians are listed as Appendix I or II, but there are a few that are not....yet. You can check out www.cites.org for the list.
I have no idea of the legality of keeping these animals in Saskatchewan, although I'd be interested. Just in case we move to a little house on the prairie...sorry!

[gfisher2002]

LOL, thanks everyone. All is clear now. My 2 torts are staying put.

Cheers,
Garrett

[chamitch]

thats weird that that guy from pike lake was so mis informed.

glad to see u can keep them though your set ups are slick.


later