Over 30 endangered sea turtles found with fatal stab wounds to the neck on Japanese beach

By Monica Athnasious

Published Jul 20, 2022 at 11:57 AM

Reading time: 1 minute

A harrowing case of animal cruelty has sparked large investigation after more than 30 sea turtles were discovered stabbed on the shoreline of a beach in the main island of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The sea creatures in question were found with grievous wounds to their necks on Thursday 14 July 2022, The Independent reported.

The endangered reptiles were found by locals after low tide on Kumejima beaches and were reportedly on the “edge of death,” as per Vice. Many appeared motionless on discovery and near fishing nets, others were bleeding and some had unfortunately died. Staff employed at the local Sea Turtle Museum were the first to attend to the animals.

Though the island’s police force has put forward and begun an investigation into a case of animal cruelty (with no confirmed conclusion drawn as of yet), a local fishing operator admitted to the stabbing of the sea turtles in Japan’s national daily, The Mainichi. The act was allegedly done to remove them from fishing nets that they were accidentally caught in.

“A lot of them were tangled up in fishing nets. I disentangled some of them and released them into the sea, but I couldn’t free heavy ones, so I stabbed them to get rid of them,” the fishing worker reportedly said.

There has been much conservation work enacted in Okinawa and Kagoshima to protect green sea turtles and their egg-laying (or nesting) habitats. And it’s been working. But according to Yuji Tabata, the president of Kumejima Fishery Cooperative Association, this increase in the reptiles’ population has been nothing but troubling to local fishermen. Speaking to Vice, he stated, “They get caught in people’s nets or can collide with boats and cause accidents.”

While they do cause an issue, stabbing them is of course not the way to go, Tabata clarified. In fact, according to the president, it’s unheard of.

“As a sea turtle community which has been transmitting the conservation of the marine environment and the importance of living creatures through sea turtle conservation activities since day [one], this situation is extremely painful and disappointing,” the Kumejima Sea Turtle Museum stated via its Facebook page. “We are so sorry for causing you all the trouble.”

Keep On Reading

By Charlie Sawyer

M&S pulls Christmas advert post of burning hats after being called out by pro-Palestine supporters

By Charlie Sawyer

364 days away from election day, Trump leads the 2024 US presidential election polls 

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Husband sues tech company after wife burned and killed by surgical robot

By Bianca Borissova

Bunny, cat, fox, boy, girl: What type of pretty are you? Unpacking TikTok’s latest beauty obsession

By Charlie Sawyer

What is the Electoral College? What is the popular vote? And how is the US president elected?

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Where is P Diddy? His private jet’s tracking suggests he’s fled the US

By Abby Amoakuh

Is Donald Trump going to jail? A full breakdown of his impending legal doom

By Abby Amoakuh

McDonald’s addresses impact of boycott related to Israel-Hamas war in new statement

By Charlie Sawyer

Donald Trump warns of chaos and bedlam if his name is kept off the US presidential election ballot

By Charlie Sawyer

Megan Fox accused of xenophobia after comparing bad photo of herself to Ukrainian blowup doll

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

China’s on a mission to ban clothes that hurt people’s feelings. But what does that mean?

By Abby Amoakuh

What is Megan’s Law and what does it have to do with Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion’s beef?

By Charlie Sawyer

British Museum attempts Roman Empire TikTok trend, fails miserably and gets called sexist

By Abby Amoakuh

Why is Swedish influencer Matilda Djerf being cancelled on TikTok right now?

By Abby Amoakuh

Sydney Sweeney’s boobs have feminists divided: Where does liberation start and objectification end?

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

The click-clack of anticapitalism: How London’s youth took over the Lime bike

By Fleurine Tideman

I love you Barbie, but we need Feral Women Media now more than ever

By Abby Amoakuh

MGK opens up about miscarriage with Megan Fox after couple’s short-lived break-up

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Here’s why Donald Trump is skipping the third 2024 Republican presidential debate in Miami

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Who is Ziwe Fumudoh? Unpacking the comedy genius putting white people in the hot seat