We have observed the dire environmental consequences of an unsustainable housing market: the waste of resources, foreclosed homes being stripped of useable resources and dilapidated pools becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes and disease. However, pets are being left behind and not just cats and dogs but tortoises as well. Reptiles are being abandoned or released in the wild as a consequence of home foreclosures. From the Arizona Republic, AZ :

Captive desert tortoises are being abandoned or illegally released back into the wild when their custodians can no longer care for them.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is aware of an increasing number of captive desert tortoises being released illegally back into the wild, especially at local community parks., as their desperate custodians are forced to move from their home.

“We cannot stress enough how detrimental it is for both the captive and wild tortoises to let a captive tortoise go free in the wild,” said Cristina Jones, Arizona Game and Fish Department’s turtles project coordinator. “Captive desert tortoises can transmit diseases that harm wild populations, and captive tortoises aren’t prepared to find food and water in an unfamiliar area and often die.”