Varying degrees of legal protection are afforded to the African spurred tortoise across its range, but illegal capture clearly continues in certain areas. Furthermore, although the African spurred tortoise is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), with a zero annual export quota for specimens removed from the wild and traded for primarily commercial purposes, it is difficult for authorities to differentiate between wild and captive-bred specimens. Enforcement against fraud and smuggling is evidently insufficient, especially between Mali, Ghana and Togo, and this problem needs to be addressed. African spurred tortoises breed fairly easily in captivity, and the United States reportedly now breeds enough specimens to supply domestic demand, while the specimens exported from the U.S. to Japan are also declared to be from breeding operations (3). Unfortunately, arid regions in which this species is found are not often proclaimed as national parks or reserves (7), but where the African spurred tortoise does occur in protected areas, it is doing well (3). This is the case for populations in the Parc du Diawling in Mauritania and the Parc du W in Niger (3).
In Senegal, the African spurred tortoise is a symbol of virtue, happiness, fertility and longevity and, as such, conservation programmes have been easier to promote in this country (4). In 1993, a programme to help this tortoise was established by the Fondation Rurale pour le Developpement, a Senegalese association, supported by Station d'Observation et de Protection des Tortues des Maures(SOPTOM), a European non-governmental organisation. A breeding centre, an information centre and a protection centre were created in Sangalkam in Senegal, and a restocking project was established. Additionally, tortoises from the Netherlands have been repatriated to Senegal (3). However, with advancing desertification, the revered status of the African spurred tortoise in this country may not be enough to protect it.