The shell of a Critically Endangered Radiated Tortoise for sale in a tourist market in Antananarivo.
Eric Goode attended a meeting of the International Angonoka Working Group at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust offices in Madagascar where the dire situation of the Critically Endangered Ploughshare Tortoise was discussed. In attendance were the Malagasy government, TRAFFIC, Durrell, and Owen Griffiths of Beanka, among others. This tortoise is in grave danger of extinction in the wild, and it is difficult to remain optimistic about its future. On a positive note, the Malagasy government approved of a select group of ex situ facilities, including the TC and Durrell, having confiscated Ploughshare Tortoises. Owen Griffiths’s new conservation project, Beanka, located on the west coast of Madagascar, is set to open in 2016 and will include a research station, a program introducing juvenile Aldabra Tortoises, and a new secure area for Ploughshares.