SOS

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Sea turtle hunt in diver’s paradise „WAKATOBI National Park”
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Bali: the turntable for the sea turtle trade.
The Indonesian archipelago is home to six out of seven still-living species of sea turtle worldwide. According to Act No. 1 from 1990 and Act No. 7 of 1999, sea turtles are protected nationwide and the trade with whole animals or parts of them is forbidden.It has been known for a long time that these regulations have neither been adhered to nor have malfeasances been punished. In Bali alone, 25,000 turtles have been slaughtered most brutally in the last 10 years, with the knowledge of the public as well as the police. It has only been since the fall of the Suharto Regime, that activists of PROFAUNA, www.profauna.or.id the national environmental and animal conservation organisation, has been able to intervene. Together with SOS-SEATURTLES and other organisations they have made the massacre public; a massacre of a species threatened with extinction. With the help of countless publications all over the world, TV documentaries, petitions, letters of protest, media conferences, public announcements and various talks with government officials, regulations for the protection of sea turtles have finally been implemented. All of a sudden regular police investigations against hunting boats and dealers have taken place. PROFAUNA activists were able to build up an information network in order to be updated at all times about any movements in the turtle trade.
The number of turtles killed within the past seven years has dropped from 25,000 to approximately 3,000 annually and still continues to decrease. There hasn’t been a public trade for a long time, although some trade has continued in private. Constant police patrols are now making the lives of poachers and dealers all the more difficult. See reports about our action HERE ! It is too early to speak about a victory against Bali's “turtle mafia” yet, but it is a very impressive achievement so far. However, the question remains over which of the police and the poachers will be more persevering. SOS-SEATURTLES is going to provide continuous support to PROFAUNA, as well as to Heinz von Holzen's “TURTLE RESCUE TEAM” wherever possible. We will also take care of taking pictures and making documentaries on the spot.

WAKATOBI National Park: Beauty is only skin-deep
The turtles being processed in Bali have not been caught on the spot - because sea turtles simply don’t exist there anymore. They are being delivered from all over the place, but primarily from south-east Sulawesi, a region considered to be one of the best diving spots in the world. PROFAUNA has been investigating for months and is now able to supply evidence with numbers and names of dealers. The complet Investigation-Report HERE
About 600 of a total of 1,115 sea turtles from south-east Sulawesi have been caught at WAKATOBI National Park !!!!!
The area of Wakatobi is situated between the Banda- and Flores Sea and, at 1.39 million hectares, is the second largest National Park in Indonesia. The impression of tranquility given to visitors is misleading, because the park is where not only sea turtles, but also sharks, napoleonfish and jewfish, are being caught there for the Asian market. The problem is not lack of money – each tourist and diver has to pay. The problem is corruption, centralised bad planning, disinterest, cultural disparity, bureaucracy and lack of motivation. Here we are not only talking about the protection of a species, we’re also talking about animal welfare: the suffering of each individual disembowelled alive! The animals are being caught with nets, weirs or harpoons or captured when they come ashore to nest. With no food, they are put into small pools filled with brackwater, mostly not deep enough for them to cool down or get protection from the sun, and they sometimes have to wait there for months until a boat will ship them to Bali. We have seen horrible injuries and skin lesions. Their front legs are pierced and tied up and they are laid on top of each other, and they are then shipped in the hull, with neither food nor water - for weeks. Their lives of suffering then come to a horrifying end in Bali.
PROFAUNA and SOS-SEATURTLES now want to put an end to the sea turtle trade once and for all !!!!.
The point is to put pressure on authorities as well as organising activities for the public. Police must attend to their duties in south-east Sulawesi, especially in WAKATOBI National Park. PROFAUNA is going to use its contacts among high-ranked government officials. SOS SEATURTLES – as usual - is going to act as a mouthpiece outside Indonesia to spread the word to media organisations throughout the world. This gives everyone the opportunity to take part and support our actions by signing the petitions and send back the Letter of protest - HERE
Of course all these campaigns and activities cost money. SOS-SEATURTLES is a not-for-profit organisation and all donations will be used 100 per cent for the sea turtle conservation projects. Besides private donors we have also been getting support from the dive- and travel industries. All supporters are acknowledged HERE and PAYPAL donations can be done here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=donations%40sos%2dseaturtles%2ech&item_name=SOS%20%2d%20Seaturtles&no_shipping=0&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_code=EUR&lc=GB&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8

Thank you very much to support our battle against the Turtlemafia !!

Letter of Protest "Seaturtle hunting Wakatobi National Park"

Honourable Minister Jero Wacik
In depth investigations by PROFAUNA Indonesia and WSPA (the World Society for the Protection of Animals) have shown that last year 1115 sea turtles were caught in south-east Sulawesi alone and were shipped to Bali. More than 600 animals were poached in Wakatobi National Park. The area of Wakatobi is a popular destination for tourists and divers from all over the world. These people bring foreign currency into the country and create jobs for locals.
These facts prove the protection offered in Wakatobi is totally insufficient and that the police are not pursing violations against Act No 7 / 1999, which prohibits the killing of and dealing with sea turtles. Based on these facts, countless tourists and divers – myself included – will not visit Bali and south-east Sulawesi anymore. I believe that this is not the kind of news that will be beneficial to your country’s reputation. I seriously hope, that you will do everything possible to bring this issue under rapid control and that this senseless massacre will be stopped as soon as ppossible and for good.

Sincerely yours

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