As an organization all BIAZA members were involved in raising awareness of the threats faced by many species to their continued survival in the wild. Many of our members have developed successful methods to convey this information to the public and we hope that they will use these methods to raise awareness throughout this campaign. There is an info pack available to all EAZA members which includes a CD-ROM, containing hundreds of very useful pictures, and logos, which can be used by participants to customize their own interpretative material. A number of people have pledged their support to the Shellshock campaign, including recognizable filmmakers Nigel Marven and Mark O'Shea. Participants can use quotes and pictures of these celebrities, as well as other supporters and organizations in their own campaigns.

Another major coup for the campaign has been permission from Aardman Animations to use Oscar the Turtle as the campaign mascot. Oscar the Turtle was one of the stars of the successful Creature Comforts® series. Images of Oscar the Turtle can be used on interpretative material once a simple Aardman Animations license form has been completed and returned by fax to Aardman Animations.

The campaign organizers (with the help of the Turtle Survival Alliance and Turtle Conservation Fund) identified 36 priority species of freshwater turtle and tortoise that require captive assurance populations. These 36 species are divided into three alert categories, Black alert (6 species), Amber alert (15 species) and Red alert (15 Species). Participants who do not currently hold these species are urged to consider doing so. The 2003 BIAZA annual species inventories show that our members held at least 58 species of freshwater turtle and tortoise. Only 5 of those are included in the Black alert list, 9 in the Amber alert list and 3 in the Red alert list. It would be great if we could see our participation in captive assurance populations for these species increase during 2004 and 2005. If any of our members are interested in any of the 36 priority species then you will need to complete the reservist list registration form (found in the campaign info pack) and return it to Kevin Buley, Shellshock campaign organizer k.buley@chesterzoo.org.

The initial target for this year's campaign was a very modest €150,000 (see Shellshock results).

A number of fundraising ideas were suggested in the info pack, designed to both raise awareness and funds at the same time. These included “guess the weight” of the tortoise, charity balls, face painting/badge making, and art sales. An auction was held during the EAZA annual conference hosted by Bristol zoo to raise extra money. Dedicated Shellshock merchandise was available, and included T-shirts and greetings cards (available from BIAZA Commercial Associate “Something Different”), as well as pencils, rulers and mouse mats (made from recycled material) featuring Oscar the Turtle, the Shellshock campaign mascot.