In October of last year I wrote a controversial article about my fears that over protection and complicated bureaucracy were going to fuel the market in endangered and protected species.

Yet again it is the industry itself that has come up with a solution.

In the past regular micro chips were considered too big to be inserted in a tortoise below 10cm. Recent developments in science in the form of a new ‘Mini Micro Chip’ have prompted Animal Health { DEFRA } to agree to the micro-chipping of smaller size Annex A tortoises from 6cm with the new Mini Micro-Chip. This means they can have specimen specific paperwork. This paperwork accompanies the tortoise throughout its life with no requirement to ever apply or pay for any new paperwork.There is one issue that does need to be noted. The microchips are numbered and this number corresponds to the number on the paperwork. The correct certificate must be married to the correct tortoise. If only one tortoise is purchased this of course will not be a problem.