Re: Indonesia - Bali Marine Police confiscated 7 alive green turtles
Your Honour,
I'm very much concerned about how endangered sea turtles are being treated in your country. Until 10 years ago on Bali alone, an average of twenty thousand sea turtles per year were brutally cut out of their tortoiseshell alive! As a result of wise decisions by the Government, several actions by the Bali Police and campaigns by Indonesian and international animal welfare organizations, this number has fortunately dropped to 90 percent and according to latest investigations, even less nowadays. However, in view of the sea turtles being threatened with extinction, every animal counts.
Next to the damage on the environment, the killing of sea turtles is illegal according to the Indonesian Government decree No 7 /1999, and the trade of turtle products by CITES regulations.
Regarding to latest publications in international medias, I learnt that the Bali Government plans to give permission to the killing and trading of 1000 Turtles per year for Balinese rituals. It is obvious and a matter of fact, that such a decision will open the floodgates to uncontrolled killing again, because it will be impossible to control the number of animals slaughtered!
If this quota becomes reality, it would definitely damage the image of Bali and will have an impact on the number of visitors. Hundreds of thousands of people are very much concerned about Bali's sea turtles and don’t consider such a decision as a national issue.
I very much hope that the killing of one thousand of sea turtles annually will never become reality !
Sincerely yours,
By robert on
18.10.2009