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 The
club was originally founded in June 2002 by Mr. Leonard Coe, a
life-long keeper of tortoises.
Len had a particular interest in Mediterranean tortoises, especially
Testudo ibera, the Turkish spur thighed tortoise, and Testudo
hermanni boettgeri, the eastern hermanns tortoise. Both species
he maintained well, and bred from for many years.
During his years keeping tortoises Len met and helped many people
provide the best possible care for their charges. He was very
concerned at the poor information regularly encountered by tortoise
pet owners, and came to the conclusion that a club which regularly
met and shared information would be an ideal way to standardise
information and promoting pet tortoise welfare to its members.
After months of planning the first meeting was arranged. Initially
the first meeting had only five members all of whom kept quite
large collections of animals. The club had, and still has, a friendly
and open atmosphere, and as would have been expected we talk tortoises
all night from 8pm-10.30pm! The club grew slowly month by month,
and became a very enjoyable night for any tortoise enthusiast.
Unfortunately though, things changed very abruptly when Len, a
long term sufferer with ill health, suddenly and unexpectedly
died after a major operation. Although a major blow to a new club,
it survived, and has gone from strength to strength with many
new members and a very dedicated group of faithfuls.
In honour of our dear departed friend, the club was renamed "The
Norfolk and Coe Tortoise Club".
Current members keep amongst them many species of tortoises including
mediterraneans, giant sulcatas, red footed, leopards, hingebacks,
burmese browns and more besides. |
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