Former turtle farm provides example for CTF
(CNS Business): A former sea turtle farm in the Reunion Islands in the Indian Ocean has successfully transitioned into a respected research centre where groundbreaking science is conducted but remains one of the islands’ top tourist attractions. It also maintains the cultural heritage of the islands and their involvement with turtling, while continuing to employ people, according to Neil D’Cruse, head of Wildlife Policy and Research at World Animal Protection.
The Observatory of Marine Turtles, Kélonia, could be an example of what the Cayman Turtle Farm could become, he said, but stressed that this is something Caymanians must decide.
A common misconception about World Animal Protection’s efforts regarding the Cayman Turtle Farm is that the animal charity wants to close the Farm overnight and that they don’t care about the consequences or Caymanian culture, D’Cruze said. “That’s just simply not the case.â€
He said that they have tried to engage all sides, to do a lot of listening and to work out what works best for Cayman. “We fully recognize that there is a need to conserve and protect wild green sea turtles. There’s also a need to preserve and proudly illustrate Caymanians’ history and ties with this particular endangered wild animal, and also that it’s been for many years the number one land-based attraction for Cayman,†D’Cruze said.
Looking at the example of the facility in the Reunion islands, he noted that it is not necessary to have 10,000 green sea turtles in order maintain these goals. The Kélonia facility has just 40 turtles, the majority of which were sick and injured animals that were actually brought in by local fishermen.
“Cayman has to decide what works best for Cayman,â€Â he stated but pointing to the huge economic problems associated with sea turtle farming, a huge step in the right direction is the current assessment of the true level of Caymanian demand for sea turtle meat.
When the level of demand is known hopefully the number of turtles at the farm can be reduced and the funding that will be released can be used to help the farm transition from its current model, “which isn’t working economically and has major flaws in terms of conservation, and still retain the Caymanian cultural and tourism aspects that the island needs,†D’Cruze said.
Category: Cruise Tourism, Stay-over tourism, Tourism, Video
So if we decide we want a farm will you go away? No. So stop lying about ‘its up to Caymanians’.
Thank you, India, for setting a fine example of what our celebrated yet deplorable Turtle Farm could be. I was involved in the WSPA campaign that was set to transform the facility into exactly what has been described here but people just can’t seem to see the forest for the trees and to this day, the Turtle Farm continues to slaughter innocent, endangered green sea turtles while our government picks up the cheque.
question: Does the Reunion facility pay for itself? Answer: No. It is government funded and EU money paid (pays?) for part (half?) of it? – Source: Kelonia website (got to the website in the article, look down the links on the left off the page until you get to Kelonia, click and read.)
So, follow-up question, how does transforming a loss-making Bosun’s Beach (one of the reasons given for going the Kelonia route) in to a loss-making Kelonia copy help exactly? Answer: WPA will have a campaign they can point to as a success. “You should close down your animal use operation because we ask you to, just like we made Cayman close down their Turtle Farm.”
Thank goodness the people in charge have so far seen through the smoke and mirrors of this campaign. I suggest that people supporting it be very clear about why they support it and what they want to achieve. The End Of Turtle Farming.