Pets at Home UK - Selling Tortoises

Pets at Home, one of the UK's biggest Pet retailers is introducing the sale of Tortoises in it's stores. Tortoises are animals that require a high and knowledgable level of captive care in order to survive, let alone thrive.
I ask Pets at Home to view the body of evidence that indicates that a percentage of  tortises imported into the UK under the banner of "captive bred" are in fact wild caught specimens.

I implore Pets at Home to reconsider this venture. An organisation that boasts that they are "dedicated to the welfare of your animals" should be able to see that the welfare of tortoises is in jeopardy from the point of sourcing the animals through to selling them to a customer unaware of their specialised needs.
 Small Tortoises are undeniably cute and will be a big hit as "impulse" purchases but will potential owners be made fully aware of tortoises care requirements and lenghty life expectancy? Will they be sold as part of a package that consists of appropriate accomodation, accessories and dietry information?

At the very least are Pets at Home willing to engage with organisations dedicated to the welfare and preservation of these engaging, specialist reptiles? 
We the undersigned implore Pets at Home reconsider their recent decision to sell Tortoises in their UK stores. Tortoises are animals that require a high and knowledgable level of captive care to thrive. There is also a huge body of evidence to supporting the argument that a percentage of tortoises sold in the UK under the banner of "captive bred" are in fact wild caught specimens leading to a huge decrease in the already threatened wild population of these creatures. I ask Pets at Home to consider the source of their tortises and to investigate the breeding, husbandry and transportation methods engaged by suppliers.
As an organisation that boasts that they are "dedicated to the welfare of your animals" Pets at Home should be able to see that the welfare of tortoises is in jeopardy from the point of sourcing the animals through to homing them with an owner unaware of their requirements and life expectancy. Tortoises are undeniably cute and will be a big hit as "impulse" purchases but will potential owners be made fully aware of tortoises specialist care requirements and lenghty life expectancy? Will they be sold as part of a package that consists of appropriate accomodation, accessories and dietry information? At the very least are Pets at Home willing to engage with organisations dedicated to the welfare and preservation of these engaging, specialist reptiles? 

Thankyou for taking the time to read this letter and we hope that Pets at Home will adhere to it's policy of "Animal welfare first".
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