Market Sells Sea Turtles For Food, But Man Buys Them Before They End Up On A Dinner Plate

It’s safe to say that if it weren’t for Arron Culling, two turtles would be served up on a dinner plate instead of roaming free in the ocean.

For fewer than forty U.S Dollars, Culling and his co-worker saved two sea turtles in Papua New Guinea.

Credit: Facebook/Arron Culling

“[F]ound these at the local market,” Culling posted on Facebook, “got them for 50 bucks drove 5km up the road and let them go.” Culling and his co-workers have bought and released about 10 turtles so far back into the wild.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most popular coastal communities that harvest turtles for their meat and shells, along with Australia and Mexico. Six of the world’s seven sea turtle species are still considered endangered.

Credit: Facebook/Arron Culling

According to an Exeter University study, over 42,000 sea turtles are legally killed each year, and hundreds more die getting caught in commercial fishing nets targeting other animals. Hopefully there are more people like Arron out there to help save the turtle population.