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Dubrovnikgate - the Croatian Turtle Saga:
A turtle story waiting for a happy ending
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In November 2000 the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (UK) contacted MEDASSET about complaints received from a number of British tourists who had visited Croatia and were concerned at the poor living conditions of a captive loggerhead turtle at the Dubrovnik Aquarium. The turtle – a fully grown adult female – has been kept for the past 40 years in a small concrete tank surrounded by coins thrown in by visitors. Barely able to move, its muscles had become severely atrophied.

MEDASSET immediately contacted a local turtle conservationist, who found that many complaints concerning the turtle’s plight had been received from all around the world. He suggested that the turtle would require initial rehabilitation in a larger tank, enabling it to swim and rebuild muscle strength and was of the opinion that release into the sea was out of the question. MEDASSET contacted the Aquarium offering three possibilities to end the turtle’s suffering: to re-house it in a larger tank, to send it to a recuperation centre or to relocate it to another aquarium with adequate facilities.

On receipt of a message from Croatia that they were willing to release the turtle, in November 2001 MEDASSET began to make arrangements for its transfer to the Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn” in Naples, Italy, where Dr Flegra Bentivegna had promised rehabilitation prior to release into the wild. In June 2002 an assistant from the Stazione who was travelling to Croatia went to collect the turtle, however the Aquarium refused to allow it to be taken, saying that they were due to renovate the Aquarium during winter 2002 and would build a new tank.

In September 2003, with no change having taken place, Dr Frank Zindel from the Turtle Foundation based in Germany who had received complaints from German visitors to the aquarium, attempted to contact the Aquarium in order to resolve the situation. He received no response and posted a request for help on the C-Turtle list server. MEDASSET sent him copies of all their correspondence, and meanwhile contacted Dr Ivona Marasovic, Director of the Institute for Oceanography and Fishery in Split, who promised to investigate. So far we have had no response to our letter.

This particular saga has continued for over 3 years. We continue to campaign on behalf of the turtle and hope that working in partnership with the Turtle Foundation in Germany and Croatians this particular story will have a happy ending.

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