August 2011 update
CARAPAX TENURE PROBLEM
The issue is still with the courts and therefore the information is limited. We will update the website if and when we receive information which we know to be accurate but you can be assured that the welfare of the eight hundred (800) terrapins airlifted by the BCG from the UK to the site between 2002-2006 (with a last consignment in 2007 when the Airlift ceased) is at the forefront of its mind.
It must be reiterated that this is not the BCG’s dispute. The BCG is neither the legal owner of the animals, nor the legal owner of the site so there is little that can be done except support a joint feeding programme. For 2010 a BCG allocation was made of 1500 Euros (1250 euro + 250 VAT) and the invoice was paid directly to the food supplier. For 2011 a similar allocation was granted, (1500 Euros) for which the invoice still has to be supplied.
The former Carapax site reverted to the legal Italian owners in 2009 but in spite of a letter received by the BCG from a spokesman for the owners, introducing himself as the new Director of the site as of May 2009, nothing more was heard and the site has been left unoccupied.
The terrapins residing in various lakes and ponds, have had the site to themselves. There are terrapins from eight other European organisations on the site, as well as a large number of Red-ears handed in by Italian people living locally. There are also a number of Snapping Turtles residing in a separate pond that were previously Italian owned.
The site has been closed to the public with the only access granted to people feeding and monitoring the terrapins. (Up till June 2011 this was done by the former Project Leader and his wife.)
Several people in Europe are striving to find a solution to re-locate the terrapins but finding a secure and suitable place containing sufficient water has proved difficult.
When we have more information from trustworthy sources the website will be updated.
July 2011 update
The Carapax Project, initiated by the Belgian based Charity "International RANA Foundation", has indeed been involved in a tenure problem with its local "landlord". A 35 year tenancy was abruptly ended after 20years, with the local Tuscan council expressing the wish to run the site itself. The matter has been contested in court by RANA but on legal advice, and to avoid further local hostilities, RANA has now relocated both the Carapax biodiversity centre and the exotic terrestrial animals to sites out of Tuscany.
The terrapins, residing in a lake of more than 5 million litres of water (= 5000 cubic metres), are not so easily transferred and are awaiting suitable re-location. Although the site is closed to the public the Project Leader and his wife have had access to the site and have three times weekly checked and fed the animals the appropriate amount of pellets. A former groundsman has now been appointed and issued with a pass to continue the checking and feeding.
The BCG has remained in touch with RANA/Carapax and some of the other participants to the Airlift scheme. Our organisation is actually helping with funding for the feeding of the terrapins. Regular updates appear on the BCG website or Newsletter and the BCG will continue to monitor the situation.