An X-ray of a sea turtle that was rescued on the island of Phuket revealed on Wednesday that it had eaten more than 150 pieces of garbage.
The young green sea turtle was rescued last month and later found to have 158 bits of trash inside its stomach, according to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. Veterinarians in Phuket are treating the animal.
A lab result showed that the turtle had intestinal complications, possibly caused by all that waste it had eaten. Found in the turtle’s feces are mostly plastic waste and other materials like fibres and cloth straps.
The marine creature, weighing 3 kilograms, was found on July 23 on Kata Beach in Phuket. It looked weak when it was taken to the Sireetarn Marine Endangered Animals Rescue Centre.
Thailand is the world’s tenth-biggest dumper of plastic waste into the sea, according to the latest report by Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). The country has an average of 1.03 tonnes of mismanaged waste each year. Nearly half of it (0.41 tonnes) flows into the sea.
