Endangered turtles being hunted to extinction
Endangered turtles being hunted to extinction
Chris Brummitt, Associated Press, Denpasar, Bali
The turtle butcher had little hesitation about revealing his
occupation.
"Come back tomorrow at dawn and you can have as much meat as
you want," said Wayan Budha, handing over his business card: Bali
Catering Service. To the left of the name, a large stenciled
image of an endangered sea turtle makes clear to potential
customers the nature of his illegal business.
Budha's fly-ridden shop is proof of a bloody trade on this
tropical Indonesian resort island, which is better known for its
sparkling coastline, friendly people and views of intricately
sculpted Hindu temples.
Three years ago, consumption of the turtle was decreasing due
to a police crackdown and a campaign by local animal rights
activists against the killing.
But the practice is now on the rise again. Earlier this year,
police raided three ships carrying more than 250 turtles destined
for Bali from other parts of Indonesia -- a sign,
conservationists say, of the increasing demand for the meat.
Turtle traders are fighting back. In June, around 50 people
armed with spears and machetes punched and kicked a group of
conservationists as they tried to research the trade on Bali.
Budha's shop was one of two in the island's provincial capital
of Denpasar where a reporter inquiring about turtle meat was
offered the illegal product. Neither had signs, and both were set
back from the road. Butchery goes on late at night to avoid the
police, Budha said.
While all six species of turtle found in Indonesian waters are
on the UN endangered species list, the green turtle, which lives
for 100 years and can measure almost a meter (three feet) in
length, is the only one that is eaten on Bali.
Decades of hunting the animal and rapid development of the
island's coastline mean it is now rarely found in Balinese
waters. Bali-based businessmen send boats elsewhere in the
Indonesian archipelago to catch the turtles.
Most of the animals arrive on Bali though the harbor at
Tanjung Benoa, a poor district on the southern tip of the island
where turtle meat is still available in street-side eating
houses. Whereas three years ago the boats used to unload their
cargo in daylight, they now do so at night, says ex-turtle
fisherman Wayan Putra.
Putra stopped fishing for turtle for fear of being caught, but
he still eats the meat. He says it is good for stamina and
defends the right of his fellow Balinese to dine on turtle.
"It's been in our culture for years," he says. "People should
stop telling us what to do."
The turtles are slaughtered by turning them onto their backs
and prying flesh from their shells while the animal is still
alive -- a process that enables the butcher to peel meat off
easily.
Turtle flesh is skewered and barbecued at parties and
religious gatherings on the island. Bracelets and trinkets made
from the turtle's carapace, or upper shell, are available in
towns throughout Indonesia. This trade is illegal, too.
The animal is also used in religious ceremonies on the island,
where most people are Hindus - unlike the rest of Muslim-majority
Indonesia. After lobbying by priests, local officials allowed a
limited number of turtles to be killed each year for use as
offerings in religious ceremonies.
Those who want to purchase turtle must have written permission
from village chiefs and Bali's Conservation Department, but
animal rights activists and some Hindu priests says the system is
widely abused.
"The trade these days has nothing to do with Hindu ritual or
tradition," said Hindu elder Ida Pedanda Ngurah Kaleran. "It's
just not true if they say it is for religion. The meat is for
consumption."
Kaleran said that a maximum of 300 turtles a year and normally
much less would be enough for sacrifices in some ceremonies to
symbolize prosperity.
He said the animal was not essential for the success of the
ritual and could easily be substituted with offerings of flour,
rice and cookies.
The trade in turtles is not the only danger facing the
animals.
It is also under threat in Indonesian waters and elsewhere in
the world from industrial fishing and the exploitation of eggs
and destruction of beaches - where the turtles nest - by
waterfront development.
Despite pockets of affluence, most of Bali is poor like the
rest of Indonesia. Last year's bloody nightclub bombings on the
island have badly hit its tourist trade, pushing thousands of
people out of work.
A large green turtle sells for more than US$50, making the
business attractive to impoverished villagers.
"It's like the drug trade," said Wayan Wiradnyana, who works
with the local conservation group ProFauna Indonesia. "The
traders are like a little mafia."