Turtle Abduction and Florida Hometown Democracy

Development has encroached on animal habitats

This turtle was abducted yesterday to Lake Osborne and John Prince Park. I saw him walking across traffic on a 4 lane busy street several miles from here in an industrial area. He was determined to cross the road even though I picked him up and put him on the grass. He just turned around and proceeded across the road. We had to stop traffic to get him out of harm's way. Those who stopped couldn't figure out what to do with him. There was no pond close by that they knew of. The other side of the road consisted of nothing but buildings and asphalt. There was a big dog there. Worried about him getting smashed by a car, he was kidnapped and relocated.

After the first hour of his abduction, he was very quite...did not move. I checked on him this morning and he was gone. We hope he has a nice, stress free life sunning on a rock and meeting new turtles at Lake Osborne, a place we know can not be developed.

The DCA has been deluged by requests for comprehensive plan amendments for developments of up to 50,000 units ever since Amendment 4 was cleared for the November 2010 ballot earlier this year.

Vote Yes on 4 for Florida Hometown Democracy in 2010. And remember our wildlife.