Punish them!

Call for full weight of law to come down on attacker of endangered sea turtle  By Sheria Brathwaite A brutal attack on a critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle has angered stakeholders in the bio-security sector who are calling for the full weight of the law to be brought down on whoever committed the act. General Manager of the National Conservation Commission (NCC) Ryan Als and the Director for the Barbados Sea Turtle Project Carla Daniel said the bloody incident left them appalled. It occurred late Monday evening along an area off Brighton Beach on the Mighty Grynner Highway, St Michael, commonly referred to as the Hot Pot. “I hope the culprit or culprits are caught and they feel the full weight of the law. The police have the information and I hope they could find who or those responsible and bring some justice. It is terrible . . . . We need to eliminate these types of behaviours from our society. I am disappointed by the incident. It was a despicable act,” Als told Barbados TODAY. Daniel said the incident was brought to her organisation’s attention after someone who saw what transpired called the 24-hour hotline. “We reported the matter to the police and visited the scene. The information we were given was that a turtle came up on the beach and was brutally attacked by two men, one wielding a piece of wood. He repeatedly hit the turtle on its head. The men then grabbed the turtle and dragged it across the sand to the back of the beach,” she said. “When I found the turtle, she was still alive; however, she was severely wounded, her skull was cracked and she was not as responsive as a turtle would be. She had came up on the beach to lay her eggs. The police also visited the scene in consultation with our vet and we decided that the best thing for the turtle was for her to make her way back to the sea.” A video of the turtle after the attack has been circulating on social media. Daniel added that it was emotional seeing the condition the turtle was in and she wanted to see the marine reptile’s attackers punished. According to Section 46 of the Fisheries Act, no person shall fish for or ensnare any turtle, and no person shall disturb or endanger any turtle nest or remove from a nest any turtle eggs. Anyone who contravenes these regulations is guilty of an offence, and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to $50 000 or two years in prison, or both. Daniel and Als said people needed to take Barbados’ biodiversity more seriously, noting that several residents and businesses operating along the coastline were not doing their part to ensure the safety of the endangered animals. “Currently, there is nothing that controls lighting along the coastline. Property owners are allowed to institute whatever lighting they feel like. Some of them have very bright lights that shine out to sea and they don’t turn them off at the close of buildings. The lights attract the turtles and confuse them. They come up to the beach, go onto properties, sometimes fall down on boulders or walk onto the street. So what we need is some lighting legislation,” Daniel said. Als agreed, adding that enough was not being done to preserve the turtles. He also called out people who light fires along the beach, cut down trees, and drive on the beach. The NCC general manager said these acts disturbed the habitat of the animals and it was “inhumane” to do so. sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb]]>