Marine Iguana in Captivity

captain alligator

captain alligator

Well-Known Member
According to the Zootierliste, Marine Iguanas are currently only kept at the CTC Conservation Center in Uganda. (They were formerly kept at iZoo in Japan too.) How did this facility obtain this species?
 
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Illegal trafficking. There is no other way to obtain Ecuatorian fauna through legal means without the consent of the Ecuatorian government.

"CTC Conservation Center is a pioneering, privately run wildlife facility in Butambala, Uganda, dedicated to Conservation Through Commercialization."
 
OkapiJohn said:
Illegal trafficking. There is no other way to obtain Ecuatorian fauna through legal means without the consent of the Ecuatorian government.

"CTC Conservation Center is a pioneering, privately run wildlife facility in Butambala, Uganda, dedicated to Conservation Through Commercialization."
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It seems Marine Iguanas were kept in zoos in Europe and the United States from the 1950s to the 1960s, but were there no problems back then?
 
captain alligator said:
Was it not as strict back then?
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I don't think there were any laws regarding the import of animals meaning that zoos could obtain as many as they want.
captain alligator said:
Conversely, Galápagos Giant Tortoises are still kept in zoos in Europe and North America today—is that not a problem?
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These tortoises must have been present at those zoos before regulations were added.
 
The CTC Conservation Center also keeps Fiji Crested Iguanas, which are not native to the Galápagos Islands. Is that legal? (This species is also kept in Australian zoos.)
 
captain alligator said:
According to the Zootierliste, Marine Iguanas are currently only kept at the CTC Conservation Center in Uganda. (They were formerly kept at iZoo in Japan too.) How did this facility obtain this species?
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Have a search through the forums (use the term "Marine Iguana" in the search bar at top right of your screen) and you'll find this has been discussed in depth. Basically the Galapagos lizards (Marine and Land Iguanas) are smuggled to Mali and then exported as "captive-bred" to Europe and from there to Uganda. From Uganda they were sold on to Japan (iZoo) and elsewhere. The CTC is just a front for a known smuggler.

captain alligator said:
It seems Marine Iguanas were kept in zoos in Europe and the United States from the 1950s to the 1960s, but were there no problems back then?
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Because Ecuador allowed them to be exported then. Laws do not stay the same over time.

captain alligator said:
Was it not as strict back then? Conversely, Galápagos Giant Tortoises are still kept in zoos in Europe and North America today—is that not a problem?
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The Giant Tortoises are from when they were allowed to be exported - many of them are the actual individuals exported last century, and many others were bred in the zoos which hold them.

captain alligator said:
The CTC Conservation Center also keeps Fiji Crested Iguanas, which are not native to the Galápagos Islands. Is that legal? (This species is also kept in Australian zoos.)
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Australian individuals were all legally obtained from Fiji. Elsewhere they are either smuggled or the decendants of smuggled animals.
 
Don't forget Fiji Crested Iguana may be rare at home but they are an invasive species in large numbers in Florida. If all those ones were collected and returned, they wouldn't be rare any more.
 
captain alligator said:
It seems Marine Iguanas were kept in zoos in Europe and the United States from the 1950s to the 1960s, but were there no problems back then?
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Brookfield Zoo Chicago had some during this period but there were problems feeding them and with aggression, particularly during breeding season. Ray Pawley did a lot of work on this that seemed to fly under the radar and figured out how to feed them and overcome breeding season aggression but unfortunately I don't think there was a capacity to breed at the time.
 
I recall reading the Izoo iguana was sold off to a private keeper at some point. However, they still keep Galapagos land iguanas I believe, also acquired via Thomas Price and CTC in Uganda. Vantara has also acquired Land Iguanas, presumably also via Price.

Regardless, as mentioned here, any and all marine iguanas outside of Ecuador currently we're smuggled out, and any facility keeping them is thus complicit in the illegal wildlife trade and should be avoided like the plague.
 
Randomname0183 said:
I recall reading the Izoo iguana was sold off to a private keeper at some point. However, they still keep Galapagos land iguanas I believe, also acquired via Thomas Price and CTC in Uganda. Vantara has also acquired Land Iguanas, presumably also via Price.

Regardless, as mentioned here, any and all marine iguanas outside of Ecuador currently we're smuggled out, and any facility keeping them is thus complicit in the illegal wildlife trade and should be avoided like the plague.
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It appears that Aramaru Aquarium & Zoo in South Korea also keeps Galapagos land iguanas, and they may have arrived using the same method as iZoo.
Aramaru Aquarium & Zoo Species List
 
Randomname0183 said:
Furthermore, there seems to be at least some presence of C. subcristatus within the pet trade, which would most likely trail back to Price and the CTC Center:
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"Unboxing" followed by any type of animal should not be in the same sentence...
This kind of content boils my blood, it gives such a distorted and utilitarian/objectification view of the animals which, even if subject to trade and selling, should still be not looked at the same as a Pokémon card pack.
 
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