Netizens are up in arms after a photo of what appears to be a tour group of adults encouraging a child to “ride” a protected sea turtle somewhere in the waters off of Sabah leaked online over the weekend. Many are now calling for action to be take against those who were leading the boat tour.
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Photos of the child, in a life vest, began to circulate on both Facebook and WhatsApp; however, information regarding who the individuals are, or when the incident took place, have not been confirmed. Sabah wildlife officials have also taken pains to point out that no formal complaint has been lodged over the event, and enforcement officials have stated that they are unaware that any incident took place.
“Perhaps it is a recycled photo,” said Sabah’s Wildlife Department, not wanting to jump to conclusions.
However, the department’s director has said that they will be investigating whether the photo was taken recently, and who the boat operators were. Only when both of these are determined can the state press charges for endangering the life of a protected wildlife species.
