Indignation contre la vidéo montrant une tortue malmenée

[Max|mum-leterrarium 0]

Cet incident peu ordinaire s’est déroulé au parc La-Vanille à Rivière-des-Anguilles, où une tortue géante a été malmenée par une « visiteuse ». La scène a été filmée, la vidéo a été publiée sur les réseaux sociaux, et elle fait un buzz sur internet.
Sous les coups portés par une jeune femme, la tortue géante a essayé tant bien que mal de se protéger.
Le parc La Vanille n’a pas tardé à réagir en condamnant cette « agression ». « C’est malheureux que cela s’est produit », a déclaré le manager Gilbert Mootia sur Radio Plus mardi 11 février.

Voici la note postée par des responsables sur la page Facebook du parc La Vanille :

« We at La Vanille are equally appalled by the mistreatment of the tortoise featured in the video posted on Facebook. Such treatment of the animals is totally unacceptable. Acceptable visitor behaviour is described on our signs and by our staff. The Tortoise Savannah is manned by a dedicated employee whose responsibilities include the care, welfare and security of our tortoises. A key part of this role covers the prevention of inappropriate behaviour towards the animals in our care. We are disappointed that this event went undetected by the guard. As a result of this event we will be retraining our staff to increase their vigilance and reviewing our signs. The Aldabran giant tortoises which we have at La Vanille are unique and fascinating animals. Exhibiting them on our Tortoise Savannah not only allows us to reproduce an example of what their natural habitat may resemble but also allows visitors to get close to the animals and interact with them which is a valuable educational experience. Inevitably we place a degree of trust in our visitors and expect them to behave in a civil, humane and respectful way towards the tortoises; an expectation reinforced by the presence and, if necessary, intervention of our staff. « We will be contacting the young woman in the video to offer her the opportunity to return to La Vanille to allow us to explain to her in detail not only why this behaviour is so unacceptable but also how it has negative consequences, including for the welfare of the tortoise. Animal welfare is our priority, unfortunately not all in society share our values and La Vanille aims to educate its visitors to be respectful to animals and value their place in our world. »

Source