Gopher Tortoise found with painted shell

[Catherine]

This is terrible. A Gopher Tortoise was found with its shell painted.  It is not only a traumatic experience for a wild tortoise to be painted, it can be harmful to the animal. The paint can be absorbed and it would be toxic. The paint would also interfere with the absorption of vitamin D. It is a bad idea and it is in bad taste.
Wild tortoises look beautiful, painted shell tortoises look ridiculous.

https://www.wfla.com/news/animals/no-wor...hed-shell/

Someone probably spent hours painting the tortoise shell. Since you can't improve on the beauty of nature, it was a complete waste of time.
It was also an act of animal cruelty. I hope the tortoise can be rehabilitated and I hope the catch the person who did this.