ICYMI: PETA Offers $5K Reward For Missing Tortoise's Return

DOUGLASTON, QUEENS — When beloved African spurred tortoise Millennium was discovered missing from his home at Alley Pond Environmental Center on July 17, the reptile’s caretakers at the wildlife center were left confused and dismayed.

Now, animal rights organization PETA has announced a $5,000 reward for Millennium’s safe return and to help find the party responsible for the tortoise’s abduction.

“Millennium was the victim of a brazen kidnapping, and his fate now is unknown,” Colleen O’Brien, PETA vice president of communications, said in a press release.

“PETA is calling on anyone with information to come forward so that this tortoise can be safely returned and those responsible held accountable.”

Police have confirmed that Millennium had been stolen from the center and that the investigation is ongoing.

The facility’s coordinator Venus Hall told Patch that she and her colleagues are feeling disheartened. The 17-year-old tortoise, who came to the center in 2005 as a rescue, is one of the facility’s favorite animals, Hall said.

Anyone with information about this case can contact the New York Police Department’s 111th Precinct at (718) 279-5200.

Image via Pixabay