The 10 most endangered species in the world according to the World Wide Fund (WWF) are:

1. Tiger, 2. Polar Bear, 3. Pacific Walrus, 4. Magellanic Penguin

5. LEATHERBACK TURTLE

6. Bluefin Tuna, 7. Mountain Gorilla, 8. Monarch Butterfly, 9. Javan Rhinoceros, 10. Giant Panda

On the website Bagheera – “An Education Website About Endangered Species and the Efforts to Save Them” they have highlighted the Leatherback Sea Turtle that is #5 on the WWF list of 10 most endangered species.

The website actually mentions the Cayman Turtle Farm:

Captive Breeding

The leatherback sea turtle is not easily kept in captivity. Because it is adapted to life in the open sea, the leatherback has no “reverse gear” and will repeatedly swim into any obstacle in its path, including the walls of a holding tank. Other sea turtles have fared better in captivity and perhaps breeding programs can improve their chances for survival.

The most successful sea turtle breeding programme is on Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean. Turtles now breed in tanks and lay their eggs on artificial beaches, where the eggs are collected and incubated to ensure maximum survival of hatchlings.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) seems to have unlimited funds to continue a tirade of propaganda comprising vitriolic attacks against the Cayman Turtle Farm that goes well beyond the norm.

Surely they have more shocking animal cruelty and protection programmes to campaign on than turtles in a small farm in a tiny country where turtlelling is part of its history?

Yes, nothing is perfect at the Turtle Farm but it certainly doesn’t warrant the continual attacks on it that are so one sided it would tilt the balance of the Earth off its axis.

The most recent attack is a re-hash of a prior one they issued the end of last year titled “The Cayman Turtle Farm – a case for change”. This was after other ‘shocking’ disclosures they reported at the Turtle Farm.

In none of the WSPA reports will you find any mention of the ‘successful sea turtle breeding programme on Grand Cayman’.

The WSPA are not content to point out the inadequacies at the Turtle Farm but they even go into the finances and the cost to the Cayman taxpayer to keep the Farm open. Even though they say they are not trying to close the farm down but to stop the selling of the turtle meat to the public and especially to the tourists, this would surely make the turtle farm even more a financial burden on us?

Quote: “In summary, WSPA provides evidence for why the farm should look

to end the commercial production of green turtles and briefly outlines how the facility can make the transition to humane, effective, safe and sustainable alternative practices.”

There was some hope at the beginning this year when both sides seem to have reached some compromise and there was some sensible talk from both sides.

Now out of the blue comes another attack with a reprise of the last one and almost the same title but the use of the word ‘continued’. It must have taken a lot of deliberation to come up with that.

In this ‘continued’ case there is no mention of the “huge upswing in the number of sea turtle nests in Cayman in recent years”.

Quite rightly the Cayman Turtle Farm (CTF) has issued a press release pointing out the misrepresentations from the WSPA.

The WSPA have even claimed the CTF is “stimulating a demand for turtle meat by ‘selling turtle meat to tourists.’” That is refuted by the CTF.

In the WSPA prior release without the ‘continued’ change they stated:

“Travellers have far less interest in eating sea turtle meat with less than one in five indicating any likelihood to do so and only one in 20 revealing some strong propensity.”

So within a year the CTF have managed to whip up an increase in demand by tourists. The WSPA haven’t given the numbers or how they advertised and pushed the turtle meat to the tourists. As the largest number of tourists are Americans and bringing back turtle meat to the US is banned this can only be another example of misrepresentation from them.

I myself witnessed a misrepresentation of theirs when they reported a representative of theirs had reported sick turtles being released. It was actually ONE!! There was over 100 witnesses there too that saw the same single turtle. Did the WSPA retract that incorrect statement? No they didn’t. It is still recorded and in their published propaganda.

Since publishing this fact the WSPA do not send iNews any more press releases and therefore I have to find them from other sources. Thank goodness for the Internet.

So why has the WSPA started the war again? I am at a loss. They even send their reports to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

They do have support and even from other media houses here. However, iNews Cayman has always posted both sides and we publish the complete reports and do not normally edit them. We also give a link where our readers can download the releases for themselves.

It is only in my editorials that I give my opinion. That the WSPA do not like them is of absolutely no concern. When they are right I say so. When the Cayman Turtle Farm is wrong I say so. But all this is my opinion and I am not always right.

The WSPA are absolutely wrong in releasing this last release that is completely against the spirit that had been achieved recently. There has to be compromise and you achieve much more than attacks and misrepresentation AGAIN of the facts.

WSPA spend your money on causes that all of us can support. The problem now is that I will have to question anything the WSPA report. And they have done that to themselves.

See also in today’s iNews Cayman –

“WSPA attacks Cayman Turtle Farm AGAIN in latest report”

“Cayman Turtle Farm addresses latest misrepresentations from WSPA”