The old way -Importing
tortoises.
Up until 1984
tortoises were imported into the UK (and lots of other countries) in their
millions, generally this was performed in a very inhumane and wasteful way.
Talking to a
friend who has recently retired from the pet trade, and having seen lots of
photos of crates of tortoises, you may be shocked to know that the importers
actually achieved higher sell on prices for dead tortoises than for live ones.
Live ones could
be sold for a few shillings, whereas dead ones could be boiled and their shells
sold for a double.