Poachers massacre protected turtles on Mexico beach

By Alistair Bell, 8/10/05, Reuters

Mexican poachers bludgeoned and chopped some 80 protected Olive Ridley
sea turtles to death for their eggs, believed to be an aphrodisiac, and
left their shells scattered on a Pacific beach.

The carnage was discovered on Escobilla beach, Mexico's top nesting
ground for the animals, in the state of Oaxaca last weekend, the
government's environmental protection agency Profepa said on Tuesday.

"They killed them with blows to the head and machetes. It is very
brutal, the beach would have been covered in blood," said leading
environmental campaigner Homero Aridjis.

The poachers did not bother to gather up turtle meat, a delicacy in
parts of Mexico. Some 1,800 pounds (800 kg) of turtle flesh was found
floating in the surf or strewn on the sand.

The navy has sent two ships to the area to step up protection of turtle
nesting areas, the environmental agency said.

Killing or capturing Olive Ridley turtles has been banned in Mexico
since 1990, with sentences of up to 9 years in prison, and the beach is
normally well protected against poachers by the military.

The killing took place near the popular tourist resorts of Puerto Angel
and Puerto Escondido, an international surfing magnet.

Turtle eggs, eaten raw with salt and lemon, can be bought in Oaxaca,
one of the country's poorest states, for the equivalent of less than 10
U.S. cents each, Aridjis said.

"Local people eat the eggs in cantinas as snacks because the men think
they are aphrodisiacs," he said.

The Olive Ridley is the smallest species of sea turtle.

Turtles born on Escobilla beach return there years later to leave their
eggs at night on dry sand between June and November. Up to 10,000
turtles at a time can crawl onto the sand in a nocturnal spectacle.

Ironically, the Olive Ridley is making a comeback. Record numbers
spawned along the Pacific coast last year, thanks largely to stepped up
protection against poachers.

International regulations aimed at preventing the accidental capture of
turtles and other sea life in deadly fishing nets are also helping
boost the population.
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+ This is awfull and I am happy it hit the news wire. Please keep in mind that paching happens all over the world. Our beloved herps are used for a variety of things, from meat to medicinal. Let me know if any of you are interested in this issue, and info on how to help stop it. (no that doesn't mean giving my husband a gun and dropping him off in the jungle to track these people down..lol altho that would work too ). Thank you
Rusty