Terrifying! Fisherman In Japan Slaughter 50 Green Turtles Accidentally Caught In Fishing Nets

Photo by Cédric Frixon on Unsplash

"Terrible view"

JAKARTA - The statement above is a response from Yoshimitsu Tsukakoshi, a senior staff member at Kumejima Umigame-kan, a local turtle conservation agency. When he found out a fisherman brutally slaughtered 50 protected green turtles.

The fisherman, whose identity is closed, admitted that he stabbed to death dozens of turtles protected on a southern Japanese island. The poor turtles were previously caught in their fishing nets.

Between 30 and 50 green turtles were found dead and some were dying last Thursday, July 14. Most of them had stab wounds to their necks and elsewhere.

The scene took place on a beach on the remote island of Kumejima, about 1,600 km southwest of Tokyo.

"Turtles are gentle creatures and they will move away when humans approach them," Tsukakoshi said.

"I can't believe that can happen in this day and age."

Yuji Tabata, head of the local fishermen's cooperative, said the fisherman admitted to stabbing the animals after dozens of animals became entangled in their nets.

The fisherman said he tried to release a lot of turtles. But after battling some, he started stabbing them to try to weaken them.

"He said he had never seen so many turtles in his net. He regrets it now," Tabata said.