🔴 | Recent incidents of turtle nests being tampered with and hatchlings being impeded on their journey to the sea have prompted a strong warning from the Department of Environment.
“Sea turtles are a Part 1 Protected Species under the National Conservation Act (2013) and interfering with a sea turtle, nest or hatchlings in any manner is a criminal offence. Allowing hatchlings to emerge naturally is extremely important,” the DoE said in its public warning.
Jerrica Campbell, sustainability and environmental assessment officer and DoE Turtle Team member, noted recent concerning incidents in which there was evidence that nests were being interfered with.
“During the DoE Turtle Team’s morning nest checks, it was obvious on two recent occasions that somebody had dug into the nests during the hatchling emergence the night before. Another incident occurred where a video was circulating of people using white flashlights on hatchlings on the beach and this caused them to become clearly disoriented,” she told the Cayman Compass via email.
She explained that though people often think they are assisting hatchlings by helping them out of the sand, “this is not the case”.
🔗 Read more at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: Supplied
