A WOMAN who brought two endangered tortoises back from holiday as pets for her grandson has been fined £300 after being snared in an animal welfare charity "sting".
Janice Rennie was caught after she advertised one of the tiny reptiles for sale in a newsagents' window.
One of the tortoises was found in a cooker when animal welfare workers implemented a search warrant.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard that the Scottish SPCA had set up an operation to catch Rennie after receiving intelligence that she had brought the animals back. One tortoise was dead and the other was hidden in a box in the oven.
First offender Rennie admitted to officers she brought the tortoises back from Tunisia on August 18 last year for her 13-year-old grandson.
Rennie, of Glencairn Street, Stirling, pleaded guilty to advertising, offering and keeping for sale two Tunisian tortoises contrary to Control of Trade in Endangered Species regulations.
Rennie's defence solicitor, Virgil Crawford, told the court she had decided to sell one because the larger tortoise was attacking the smaller one.
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