Thailand: Green Sea Turtle Found Dead With Plastic Waste Inside

By Linda Khoo Hui Li BANGKOK, March 12 (Bernama) -- A green sea turtle was found dead on Wednesday with plastic waste in its gut in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat in Thailand. Local media reported that the carcass of the female turtle, estimated to be about four to five years old, weighing about 10 kilograms, was found on a beach by villagers. Director-general of Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Sopon Thongdee said veterinarians who examined the sea turtle’s gut found small plastic bags, ropes from fishing nets as well as black liquid (similar to crude oil). “A sample of the black liquid and the sea turtle’s tissues has been sent to a laboratory for further examination,” he said, quoting news outlet Thai PBS World. An initial examination showed that the sea turtle had died from intestinal obstruction after consuming plastic trash over time. In 2018, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation banned the use of plastic and foam in all of the national parks – forest and marine in the kingdom. However, incidents of animals dying from plastic waste continues. A short-finned pilot whale was found dead on Songkhla's seashore with eight kilogramme of plastic waste in its gut in June 2019. The same year, in August, a baby dugong rescued in southern Thailand died after ingesting marine plastic waste that clogged the digestive system. -- BERNAMA