Dubai
An endangered sea turtle washed up dead on the Fort Morgan, Alabama, US shoreline and once again, human negligence is to blame.
The Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle’s body was found on the morning of July 14 with a beach chair’s cord tangled around its neck.
A graphic image of the animal was shared in a Facebook post by a page called Fort Morgan Share the Beach, as an attempt to shed light on the matter. In the picture, the turtle is seen lying flat with the folded chair stuck to it.
The post says: “This Kemp’s Ridley, which is on the endangered list was found this morning with this chair around its neck. This makes me so mad. How many hundreds of times do we have to ask people to pick their stuff up? It should just be common decency. I think I am going to print this out and carry it with me next time I have to ask.”
The post has so far gotten over 4,000 shares, almost 300 comments, over 2,500 ‘likes’ and several comments from enraged netizens.
Facebook user Dianne Zeek commented: “You can post all the signs you want but it doesn’t matter. Goes to show how people were raised, how lazy and selfish they are. But I am NOT saying we should quit trying…”
Doyle Critter applauded the page’s effort of spreading awareness about the issue: “Excellent idea. And even more gruesome ones if you have .... Whatever it takes to wake these people up!”
In a separate comment, Conte wrote: “The beaches and oceans are not our trash cans!”
Whereas, Facebook user Stefanie Woodward provided a solution: “Why can’t it be a law that all items must be removed from the beach nightly? Private beach or not, it is harming/killing endangered species. It’s against the law to hunt endangered animals so what’s the difference in killing one this way?”
Some people suggested that objects ending up in the ocean might not be because of careless beachgoers but could be a result of natural disasters.
Adrian Nugget Rene wrote: “Makes you wonder what a chair is doing out there in the ocean but we can’t forget sometimes we have hurricane flooding that destroys homes from time to time and some things like these get swept out to sea from strong currents. Definitely heart breaking to see.”
Facebook user Teresa Cannon posted: “It could also be from a major storm....”
Marine life getting affected by trash has been a topic of concern. Sea turtles are one of the most affected creatures by human waste. Pictures of them dying due to accidently eating and getting plastic bags, rings and straws stuck on their bodies have been circulating across social media.
