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The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is campaigning to stop sea turtle farming with the claim “Sea turtles crushed, stressed and diseased. Living with open wounds in waste-filled waters. Welcome to the Cayman Turtle Farm”.

The advert urging persons to sign their petition also states:

“Life in these tanks is a living hell for the naturally solitary sea turtle.They are so stressed they turn on each other, biting and maiming.

“In-breeding at the farm is a major problem. Some turtles are even born without eyes.

“This horror is all in pursuit of profit. While a few lucky sea turtles are released, far more will be slaughtered and sold as steaks or burgers.”

The WSPA advert is shown at the end of this article.

Press Statement from Cayman Turtle Farm

 Cayman Turtle Farm Committed to Sea Turtle Conservation and Welfare

Cayman Islands sea turtle conservation centre responds to attack on its operations by UK-based organisation

 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands – Friday, 12th October, 2012… The Cayman Turtle Farm: Island Wildlife Encounter, an entity in existence for over 40 years dedicated to sea turtle research, reproduction, display and conservation, is today fighting serious and spurious claims made by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) against its operations.

In its purported quest to “shut down sea turtle farming,” the WSPA is making grave allegations against the world’s only sea turtle farming and conservation organisation that has reached the landmark achievement of a second generation of captive-bred sea turtles – the Cayman Turtle Farm.

The Cayman Turtle Farm is taking these allegations very seriously, as the organisation focuses on its mission to be a world-renowned attraction where guests enjoy quality interaction with animals in a safe environment which promotes sea turtle conservation through research and education.

The Cayman Turtle Farm sees this effort to shut down our operations as completely incompatible with the WSPA’s claims that the organisation hopes to assist the Cayman Turtle Farm to transition to a model the WSPA finds more acceptable to its aims. That claim is in itself contradictory given that the WSPA has also claimed that sea turtles cannot be humanely held in captivity.

Regarding the claims that the operations at the Cayman Turtle Farm are cruel to the turtles in our care, we found no evidence of the kinds of injuries or defects among the turtles reared at our facility that the WSPA is listing in its assertions against us.

Rather, we have instead succeeded in maintaining the health and well-being of our turtle population through established veterinary treatment protocols and methods

The Cayman Turtle Farm shares the WSPA’s concern for the welfare of the animals in our care, and is committed to ensuring the safety and health of the sea turtles hatched and reared in our research and conservation centre, as well as the safety and health of our guests and our crew members.

These magnificent animals – Green sea turtles (distinct from the critically endangered Leatherback or Kemp’s Ridley species) are the centerpiece of our facility and we treat them with the care and respect they deserve. The Cayman Turtle Farm ensures that we follow internationally accepted and humane animal husbandry practices and also follow internationally recognised release protocols when releasing these animals into the wild as part of our conservation mandate.

It should also be noted, that once the WSPA approached the Cayman Turtle Farm with their claims, we immediately initiated a thorough review of our operations, and found no basis for their sensational allegations.

We have also agreed to a fully independent assessment of our operations, which is currently scheduled to take place in December of this year. We are confident that the Cayman Turtle Farm can and will stand up to this scrutiny as a well-run bona fide captive breeding and research centre dedicated to education on, interaction with, and conservation of the Green sea turtle.

The Cayman Turtle Farm, and representatives of the Cayman Islands Government, have in fact met with the WSPA both in the Cayman Islands and in the United Kingdom to discuss and review the group’s concerns. It was through this dialogue that the Cayman Turtle Farm agreed to independent examination of the WSPA’s claims, and to work with the organisation moving forward to address their concerns.

In all meetings and communications with the WSPA thus far, it has been clearly stated that the decision to alter the business model and objectives of the Cayman Turtle Farm would require a decision by the Cayman Islands Cabinet, and a timeline was agreed and subsequently adjusted by both parties to enable these high-level discussions to take place as an important part of the sequence. However, the WSPA has instead embarked on a smear campaign to coerce the Cayman Turtle Farm to submit to the WSPA’s demands despite that fact that their allegations are unfounded, erroneous and sensationalised.

It is also completely erroneous for the WSPA to claim that we are rearing and slaughtering diseased or defective turtles for meat. Any turtles among the population with congenital defects are humanely euthanised. Such defects are very rare and have not been found at rates higher than those expected in the wild population. Also, all meat harvesting is performed under the guidelines of the Cayman Islands Department of Environmental Health as well as internationally-accepted humane harvesting procedures.

The farming operations at the Cayman Turtle Farm are just one part of our multi-faceted approach to the conservation of these splendid and unique animals. The sea turtle is an integral part of the Cayman Islands’ history, and the turtling trade was a staple industry in the development of our Islands. Consumption of turtle meat is part of the country’s unique national heritage, and turtle stew is widely regarded as the country’s national dish. The practice can be likened to the farming and consumption of bison in other parts of the world.

The catching of sea turtles in the wild is severely restricted by law in Cayman waters, due to the depletion of these animals in the natural environment. The Cayman Turtle Farm is the only legal source of turtle meat in the Cayman Islands, and the sale of this meat is aimed at restricting illegal poaching of sea turtles and thereby protecting the population of wild sea turtles of all the species in our surrounding waters.

The responsible stewardship of the animals in our care at the Cayman Turtle Farm is a responsibility that we take very seriously and our crew works hard and diligently every day to ensure that safe and optimal operating conditions are maintained.

In addition to the safety and well-being of the turtles at our facility, we are also dedicated to the health, safety and enjoyment of the many visitors to the Cayman Turtle Farm each year. The Cayman Turtle Farm is the number-one land-based attraction in the Cayman Islands and receives on average over 200,000 visitors annually: giving them the unique experience of seeing sea turtles of many different ages and sizes. At the Farm they can wade amongst young turtles, and even swim alongside them. In our education centre they can see turtle eggs in the process of hatching, and watch an educational video presentation.

We adhere to all safe turtle handling protocols to ensure that our guests at the Cayman Turtle Farm, who come to interact with sea turtles as a unique and often once-in-a-lifetime experience, are in a completely safe environment. This is done through signage and extensive spoken instructions by our on-site tour guides and lifeguards. All handling protocols at the Cayman Turtle Farm follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for the safe handling of reptiles.

One of the clearest indicators of the safety of our operations to our human guests is that in over 40 years of operation, with hundreds of thousands of visitors to our facility every year and numbering in the millions in total – all interacting with the turtles resident here, we have not had one single known case of transmission of illness to our guests or our crew members. This is through literally hundreds of interactions per day – with guests of a range of ages. This impressive record is also supported by the instructions and education we give to our guests on the property regarding the safe handling of turtles – both for the comfort and safety of our guests and also for the welfare of the turtles in our care.

Regarding the Cayman Turtle Farm’s research and conservation mandate, the Cayman Turtle Farm has published 150 research papers over the years – research that would not have been possible without our operation being in existence. We are also currently participating in important research on the diet of Green sea turtles, as well as an aging study that will be the first to determine how to accurately calculate the age of live sea turtles. All of this is information sought after by scientists in the field that would not be possible without research on the turtle herd at the Cayman Turtle Farm.

The WSPA makes light of the 31,000 turtles released into the wild over the years – the vast majority of which were released in the past 25 to 30 years. Sea turtles do not reach maturity until they reach between the ages of 25 to 35 years old, so we will only just now begin seeing these turtles return to our shores to nest – which the Cayman Islands Department of Environment has been seeing happen in greater numbers in very recent years.

In fact, 2012 has thus far been a record year for turtles nesting on Cayman Islands beaches. It has also been a very positive nesting season for the Cayman Turtle Farm, with over 41,000 eggs being laid at the facility and a higher hatch rate than has been seen in several years. As a result, a turtle release is being planned for later in the year releasing 150 turtles into the wild on that occasion – thereby continuing our conservation efforts and aims to increase the wild population of Green sea turtles.

Through recent satellite-tagged turtle releases, we are also able to capture data on the behavior of Green sea turtles released into the wild – where they go and what they do, and thus far we have seen that the satellite-tracked turtles we have released into the wild have adapted well to their new habitat.

To further its own aims, the WSPA in its goal to shut down our operations is using every tactic imaginable and attacking all angles of the important work the Cayman Turtle Farm has been doing over the past 40 years. We maintain that our operations are safe for both the turtles in our care and all guests at our facility. We also stand by our scientific research and our conservation mandate and record.

We look forward to the upcoming independent review of our operations and pledge to continue to uphold the highest standards for our guests and our turtle population.

The Cayman Turtle Farm remains committed to our work with Green sea turtles – in conservation, reproduction, display and education – as we endeavour to preserve the population of this species so humans may continue to learn from them and experience the joy of interacting with these animals that are held in such high esteem in our Islands’ national heritage and consciousness.

 END OF PRESS STATEMENT

In July 2012 nearly 300 turtles died at the Turtle Farm due to a leak in a main pipe that supplied sea water broke under the Northwest Point road by the farm and when the pipe was being repaired the back-up system failed. This affected the water supply to several tanks. See iNews Cayman story on Oct 12 at: http://www.ieyenews.com/2012/08/turtle-farm-loses-almost-300-turtles-due-to-system-failure/

A much bigger story of the incident appeared on the Wildlife Extra web site together with the Cayman Turtle Farm statement that we were not sent and we publish now.

That incident probably prompted the action taken now by the WSPA.

300 Green turtles die at Cayman Turtle Farm

Questions raised about safety of turtle farm

August 2012. After a leak of seawater from a pipe, 300 Green turtles have died at a turtle farm on the Cayman Islands. The turtle farm is a controversial turtle breeding centre that also sells turtle products to raise money. Not everyone agrees with this style of conservation, and although much good has been done in boosting local populations of turtles, there is much disquiet in some quarters about their methods.

The Cayman Turtle Farm has issued a statement (see below) that leaves several questions unanswered.

We have not visited the farm, but Wildlife Extra question why 300 turtles are kept in one tank, and extremely unnatural environment and one that would open the turtles to the risk of disease. Additionally, when there was a known leak, how on earth did a tank containing 300 turtles become empty without anyone noticing? The turtles must have suffered terribly as they are perfectly capable of living outside water for a time, they must have been left with no water for an extended period.

Time lag  
Although the accident happened on 16th July, it didn’t reach the news in the Caymans for 2 weeks, and there is no mention of the incident that we could find anywhere on the Turtle Farm website.

This is not the first time that the Cayman Turtle Farm has been at the centre of a controversy. A few years ago the Cayman Turtle Farm tried to export live sea turtles to Europe. However because the Cayman Farm was not recognized by CITES as a legal breeding facility, any international shipment of its turtles was in direct violation of CITES. In providing turtles for display at Sea Life Centres in Europe, the Cayman Farm hoped to generate public support for its controversial agenda of creating markets for turtle products. Conservation groups, meanwhile, claimed that the main reason green turtles have finally begun to rebound from near extinction is that international demand for turtle meat and shell has been all but eliminated. These groups have good reason to fear that any re-opening of trade would create the kind of demand that fuels illegal poaching and black markets for turtles caught from the wild.

THE FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT FROM THE CAYMAN TURTLE FARM

On Monday, 16th July at around 11am the operations at the Cayman Turtle Farm were affected by a major leak in a main sea-water pipe. One of the large pipes carrying seawater from the seaside pumping station into the farm and which lies under Northwest Point Road developed a large crack underground, and began flooding the road. In order to repair the pipe break and avoid a worsening flooding situation, the decision was made to cease pumping sea water into the farm through the main pipe system. Several hundred thousand gallons of fresh sea water are required to be pumped into the farm on a continuous basis to maintain daily operations and ensure the safety and optimal living conditions of the sea turtles housed at the Cayman Turtle Farm, and this water flow ceased during the diagnosis and repair of the pipe break.

Once the pumps were turned off, repair work immediately began on the broken pipe. However, this was a major break which required heavy equipment, external contractors, additional manpower, layers of fiberglass work followed by concrete work, and took many hours to complete. While repairs were being made, alternative water pumping systems were obtained and put into place in efforts to maintain adequate water levels and some water circulation in the turtle tanks. The pipe break was repaired and water was back on by 10pm on Tuesday, 17th July.
However, this situation resulted in the loss of some of our valued turtle stock due to problems that arose in one of the large commercial farm tanks. We lost some 299 turtles, which were all between the ages of three and five years old. This loss has been very upsetting to the management and crew members involved in responding to the incident. Although a significant number, this represents less than 5% of the total number of turtles at the Cayman Turtle Farm and the turtles lost were not part of the Cayman Turtle Farm’s breeder stock.

Immediately after repairs were completed and water pumping operations returned to normal, the management team at the Cayman Turtle Farm met to review the incident and put improved mitigating procedures and systems into place based on the lessons learned.

We are now implementing new procedures and emergency back-up water supply systems aimed at avoiding a similar loss of turtles in any future main water loss situation. Additionally, the core water pumping and piping system at the Farm is being monitored and some key valves that failed are being replaced, with new parts and components already on order to be installed upon arrival.

The responsible stewardship of the animals in our care is a responsibility that we take very seriously and our crew works hard and diligently every day to ensure that safe and optimal operating conditions are maintained. We remain saddened by this recent loss – the first of its kind in the Cayman Turtle Farm’s 40-plus years in existence but we are energized about improving our crisis response and resiliency systems moving forward.

The new procedures, and some of the new system setups that were put in place since the incident with the broken pipe, have proven their worth and effectiveness during an island-wide power outage which resulted in our sea-side pumps being out of operation from early on the morning of Wednesday, 25th July till around 1:30 pm that afternoon. We were able to get through that without any resultant loss of any of our animals.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cayman-turtle-farm.html#cr

The following is the WSPA advert: