SAINT CLOUD, Fla. — Caregivers said a gopher tortoise was found shot with a possible pellet gun and severely injured.
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The tortoise was spotted Saturday afternoon outside a home in Saint Cloud.
The woman who found the injured reptile told Channel 9 she was shocked when she noticed what had happened, and is now left wondering why someone would do this.
“Who would shoot a turtle? It’s just sad,” Kristyn Hulett said. “That’s senseless. That’s horrible.”
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Hulett said she found the injured turtle just outside her home in St. Cloud Saturday afternoon.
“We were trying to feed it food and stuff, but then I noticed the hole on the back of it,” she said. “Our biggest thing was trying to find it help.”
After posting about it on Facebook, Hulett was connected with Kim Titterington from Swamp Girl Adventures Reptile Rehabilitation, who drove over to inspect the turtle.
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She brought it to her facility, where she took some X-rays and noticed at least four fragments lodged inside the animal, one at the front portion of the body that entered the lung, and a few other fragments that spread across there.
The tortoise is not in good shape, but both women are hoping it pulls through.
The also hope the person who did this won’t do it again.
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“Everything has feelings, even though it looks like it might be just a shell,” Hulett said. “That animal has a soul and feels pain just like us.”
Florida Wildlife Commission is looking into the case.
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