Target: R.P.H.G. de Beukelaer, Chief Prosecutor, Amsterdam Public Prosecution Office, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Goal: Identify and prosecute whoever sealed four protected tortoises inside an unventilated plastic crate and dumped them into a canal where they could have drowned or suffocated.
A maintenance vessel operator retrieved the sealed plastic container after spotting it drifting near an industrial shipping lane. Inside were four protected Mediterranean tortoises, trapped in shallow, foul water with no ventilation holes through which fresh air could enter. The reptiles showed severe respiratory distress when discovered and required immediate transfer to a specialized wildlife rehabilitation facility.
Investigators are treating the incident as suspected illegal wildlife dumping and attempted drowning. Determining where the container entered the canal is difficult because currents may have carried it from another location. Police are examining the crate’s serial numbers and branding in hopes of tracing its retailer. Environmental officers are also comparing records of licensed exotic-animal keepers and reviewing whether any owners recently failed to renew permits or reported missing animals. Residents along the canal have been asked to inspect security footage for anyone carrying a large container toward the water. No suspect has been identified, and no court has determined criminal liability.
Tortoises cannot claw through sealed plastic or escape rising water. Once identified, if someone deliberately confined these animals inside an airtight container and discarded them into a canal, the conduct placed four living creatures at obvious risk of an agonizing death. Authorities must identify whoever did this and pursue meaningful prosecution under every applicable animal welfare and wildlife protection provision.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Chief Prosecutor de Beukelaer,
Four protected tortoises survived only because a maintenance worker noticed an otherwise unremarkable container floating in the canal. The animals were sealed inside without ventilation and found partially submerged in contaminated water while suffering serious respiratory distress.
The unusual crate itself may offer investigators a valuable evidentiary trail. Retail records, exotic-animal registrations, surveillance footage, and forensic examination should be pursued thoroughly to determine who possessed these animals and how the container entered the water.
Please ensure that, once identified, whoever confined and discarded these tortoises is prosecuted under the strongest appropriate provisions of Dutch law. Protected animals left inside a sealed container to drown or suffocate deserve justice.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: -JvL-
