Bali turtles face extinction

DENPASAR, Bali: A Hindu priest warned against unbridled hunting of turtles under the pretext of religious ceremonies. He said groups have been manipulating the rituals to poach the animal in large numbers.

"Even religious ceremonies only need a maximum of 300 turtles per year," Ida Pedanda Gede Ngurah Kaleran said on Tuesday during an environment seminar.

"Therefore, I urged the governor to revoke a commercial quota of a maximum of 5,000 turtles per year," Ida said, adding that only residents of Badung regency and Denpasar mayoralty still perform ceremonies that require turtles.

"The turtles could even be replaced by cakes or other foodstuff to symbolize the creature."

Ida said many people were hunting turtles in the province for commercial purposes, but were citing religious requirements as a cover-up.

World Wildlife Fund deputy director of Wallacea Bioregion, Ketut Sarjana Putra, disclosed that despite the existing turtle quota, in 1997 alone the Balinese consumed some 14,000 turtles.

"The turtle business in Bali has created a huge pressure on its population in other parts of the country," Ketut said. (50/edt)