Endangered hawksbill turtle saved from poachers
(CNS): A large, critically endangered hawksbill turtle was found tied up on an undisclosed beach Sunday and rescued from poachers by DoE conservation officers and the RCIPS. The turtle was still alive when found, and thanks to the fast response of the rescuers, she was released back to sea after a health assessment.
Hawksbills are declining worldwide, and mature breeding turtles in the Cayman Islands are extremely rare, with many seasons passing where no hawksbill nesting occurs at all.
“Taking any species of sea turtle from the wild is an illegal offence because their numbers are so fragile that it’s unsustainable, even for the small populations of our Islands,” the DoE said in a social media post.
As the nesting season gets underway and females come onto the beach to lay their eggs, making them especially vulnerable, the DoE is urging the public to help protect all of Cayman’s wild turtles from poachers.
People can report any suspected illegal activity to DoE’s Conservation Officers on 916-4271 and by only buying turtle meat from the Cayman Turtle Centre, never from an unknown source.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Marine Environment, Science & Nature
Must be those that declared themselves unemployable
For decades, the people of Cayman have had to forgo hundreds of millions of dollars in normal public works maintenance, road construction, quality of life enhancements, social amenities, services, benefits, and debt service fiscal prudence – just so that we could run a turtle meat abattoir. It’s done as a top priority money pit and because Caymanians, left to their own devices, can’t help themselves but poach wild turtles. In all the supporting literature, poaching without the farm is framed as an absolute certainty. Here’s another confirmation for the world, even with generations of crippling meat subsidies.
thank you civil service you peform so many thankless tasks.
Truth. So sad and pathetic.
Make it 10 years hard labour. The wutless idiots who did this would be in for a surprise.
Caymankind!
The DOE Conservation Officers are basically defenceless and they are expected to deal with some rough and belligerent characters. They need to be armed or, at the least, accompanied at all times by armed officers from the Police, CBP or Coast Guard.
They have Tasers, pepper spray, and batons. Not exactly unarmed and defenceless. The bigger problem is getting them after 5pm, at weekends, or away from private employment.
No turtle soup for you!!!!!
No Caymanian wastes time with turtle soup!
It’s turtle stew. Maybe some turtle gumbo. But soup….nah. That’s how the English prepared it when we shipped it to them for their Lord Mayor’s banquet.
Whatever, none of it originated in Cayman.
Just make it 5 yrs minimum for talking wild turtles. Heck make it 10! no need to slaughter wild turtles when we have a farm.
The lost opportunity cost from every subsidized pound of turtle meat over the years is eye-watering. The CIG had to give away hundreds of acres of crown land to DART just to continue the idiotic political vanity missions benefiting far too few. Close the farm AND arrest these poachers. Past time on all of this nonsense. Unsustainable.
How can you enjoy eating endangered species, farmed or not?
With a cold beer
😢
gross