Plans for breeding facility to produce up to 300 tortoises a year

Dale Spridgeon, Local Democracy Reporter

The erection of a building for the keeping and breeding of tortoises is to be considered by Anglesey planners.

Anglesey County Council has received the quirky proposal as part of a full planning application at a property north of Llandyfrydog.

The proposal concerns the erection of two buildings comprising of a mixed-use agricultural and industrial building for livestock housing, feed, hay and machinery storage and a pond manufacturing workshop.

It also includes the erection of a building for the keeping and breeding of tortoises together with alterations to the existing access and associated works.

The application described two livestock buildings required to use land as a farm business, one wooden building for smaller livestock and  larger portal frame building for larger livestock /feed/hay store and machine store workshop area

The bid has been made by Mike Barber, and is on a 4.90 hectare site, where livestock buildings are required for a farm business.

It noted that the land had mostly been used in the past 50 years for pet donkeys and they “wished to turn the land back into a working farm.”

The applicant said they “currently own nearly 40 tortoises which are now starting to mature”.

“These have laid eggs in the past but as the males require longer to mature and fertilise the eggs then little percentage hatching has occurred.

“The males however this year have started to mate more frequently with the females and we hope to get more fertile eggs, last year they laid over 50 eggs.

“We propose the smaller building will have a walk in passage at the
back and the tortoises will be higher up for ease of care, and directly behind the glass windows, benefiting from all heat and rays from the sun even on cooler days.”

The  tortoises would also be allowed access to outside on most dryer days to “maximise UV rays which are beneficial for them and natural UV is proven to increase fertility and general health”.

The plans said “the species will be kept separate and the grazing outside will be planted to try and equate to their natural wild surroundings – for example, desert types more sand/grasses, etc. and tropical forest species will be more heavily planted.

“We believe that within three years we will have a possibility to produce over 300 tortoises per year.”

The application stated: “Currently all tortoises in the pet trade are bred in overcrowded farms and are mass bred without the care needed for them.

“There are often big mortality rates and they are sold to dealers who then pass them on without proper care to other dealers then the UK importers who sell them to the shops in the UK.

“We would supply quality babies which have with the climate on Anglesey been given space to grow and a quality life direct to the shops.

“We are not looking at supplying the general public. All tortoises would be delivered directly by ourselves not by couriers.”

It also noted the new business has already been registered with HMRC and animal health.

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