Two sea turtles destined to be sold and killed for food in Papua New Guinea were graciously spared from their tragic fate thanks to one kindhearted man who went out of his way to spare the helpless creatures.
As The Dodo reported, Arron Culling and his co-worker Mark purchased the turtles at a local food market and personally escorted them back to the ocean where they belong.
As shocking as it sounds, live sea turtles are available for human purchase and consumption in certains parts of the world, including Papua New Guinea.
According to the World Wildlife Fund , these turtles are captured and harvested for their meat, skin, eggs, and shells, with some experts estimating over 42,000 are killed every single year.
When Culling and his co-worker came across the live sea turtles in the market, they knew they had to do something.
In a viral Facebook post documenting their rescue, Culling explained that it only cost them around $50 to purchase the pair of turtles.
After securing the reptiles, Culling and Mark drove them down the road to a nearby beach.
There, they carried the large sea turtles from their truck down to the surf where they were finally able to release the poor creatures back into the ocean where they belong.
As it turns out, this isn’t the first time the pair have rescued turtles from their local food market.
As Culling explained in a comment on his post , he estimates that they’ve probably spared about 10 turtles from meeting a tragic fate at the hands of humans.
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Here’s hoping the duo keep up the great work and continue to help sea turtles get out of markets and back into oceans!
h/t: The Dodo , Facebook | Arron Culling
