La situazione e ancora buona. Alla Serbia centrale, sud-est, sud-ovest, sud e Kosovo sono ancora abbondanti, mentre le Greche (T. g. ibera non abbiamo (loro sono situate a Macedonia e Bulgaria).
Abbiamo anche una populazione grande di Emys orbicularias (una color variazione da Danubio, molto nere in colorazione). Anche, a costiera Montenegrina sone tantissime T. h. hercegovinensis, ma non ci sono le altre!
Cordiali saluti, Marco
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Che fortuna!!!
Ma non avete problemi con il bracconaggio?
E che rapporto cè tra le tartarughe e gli uomini?, ho letto in molti libri che non sono viste di buon occhio soprattutto dai contadini!
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Yes, there are two different problems available in relation between people and Tortoises over here. Contadini are having not love toward Tortoises, due they are eating their vegetables and "making damages" in their gardens. So, they are killing them in very bad way (not so much in Serbia, as on Montenegro and Croatian Adriatic coast (T. h. hercegivinensis). During spring and summer each year, they collect them in vegetable gardens every morning, take them over and place them into emtpy barrels or steell drums. Poor animals are stying inside till death. It is usual praxis by villagers, and big quantity of Tortoises are killing in this way every year. But, if you want to ask Authorities for number of 20 heads of the same species for your breeding stock, you will surely get negative answer!
The second crazy practice is killing of Tortoises for blood. Actualy, I do not know from which reason, many people over here are still believing in high healthly potential of Tortoises blood (not of Turtles, than of Tortoises exlusively!). They especially believe, Tortoises blood could help in various cancer diseases, and they are insisting the sick people should drink fresh Tortoises blood. So, they are killing one Tortoise every day (for up to 20 days in total), enable sick people to dring its blood. And, they are speaking about good progress in sick people recovery after that. Of course, it is not truth and without adequate medical therapy, there is nothing to do. But, the people still believe in it, and they are looking for Tortoises, to be able to use their blood in "therapy" manner.
So many times, I was in terrible position because I refused to give my Tortoises (they must be subadult to adult size!) to "help hardly sick people in their recovery". Oh, my God, it was realy terrible!
Yours sincerely, Marco
P.S. I forgot to let you know, due to people mentality, or tradition, I do not know exactly, but domestic land Tortoises are not so much popular in my country as pet animals, and it is very good for their survival in wild. The people are looking for Red-eyed Sliders as pet animals, of course very small size of them, and it is the end. I am having some number of local small breeders over here, looking for my offsprings, of course exotic species and some unusual species, and nothing over it. The young people are having much more interest in both Tortoises and Turtles, and I hope, to have one good breeder's association in the future over here, too!