Tortoise found on indola mountain . It appears to have either a 5 or a s on its back. Think he’s lost .

It is illegal to keep a tortoise as a pet in Spain. I think you should leave it where it is :)

It is illegal to own a tortoise I belive

Hi, we used to live in Vera Playa and regularly walked our dogs in the campo there.  There were lots of wild tortoises with painted numbers on their shells... we presume they had been numbered by conservationists in order to keep track of how many were around and their habitat.

Hi, Thanks for the information . He’s back in the wild. I had no idea that it was illegal to keep tortoise 

Since 1st July 2015 it has been illegal in Spain to own a pet common or spur-thighed tortoise, despite the adoption of these animals traditionally being popular, particularly in Almería and the Region of Murcia.

What this means, quite simply, is that anyone found to be in possession of such an animal is breaking the law, and in theory is subject to a fine and even a suspended prison sentence, while stiffer punishments are stipulated for people found to be buying and selling tortoises. This means that many people who have bought pet tortoises from street vendors, or have even “inherited” a garden tortoise when buying a house and finding that the previous owner has left it behind, could be liable to prosecution.

But don’t be alarmed: the intention of the authorities with this legislation is not to generate revenue through fines, but to take them out of circulation while preserving the few “genuine” and endangered tortoise populations in the wild in Spain. One of these is in the south-west of the Region of Murcia and the east of Almería, occupying the countryside in parts of the municipalities of Lorca, Águilas, Mazarrón, Alhama de Murcia and Puerto Lumbreras.

Indeed, it is the protected status enjoyed by the species which makes it illegal for the tortuga mora to be in private ownership.

Chris