In Oman, tourists sat on a sea turtle that was trying to crawl to the water — the reaction was swift
Kyiv • UNN
The tourists sat on a sea turtle and held its hatchlings, filming it. After the incident gained widespread attention, they apologized, and police stopped them at the airport.
In Oman, two tourists sat on a sea turtle’s shell and held its newly hatched babies in their hands. They filmed it and shared the video, after which the situation began to be widely discussed on social media. Later, according to the environmental protection project Biologicamente, the tourists were stopped at the airport, reports UNN.
Details
According to information from the Italian environmental protection project Biologicamente, the video showing the cruel treatment of turtles was posted by a user named Vadym Oliinyk. The post also said that the tourists were allegedly in Oman as part of an environmental protection mission.
"These images speak for themselves. The photographs were published on a profile with 200,000 followers. Obviously, the author has already received a generous dose of abuse and was forced to disable the comments section. But he immediately defended himself, claiming that he had done nothing wrong, had broken no laws and had not behaved improperly. (...) And do you know why they are so convinced that they helped the poor turtle? Because they were together with volunteers from a fake environmental organization that monitors turtles coming to Oman", the project’s post said.
It also added that a serious and professional association accompanied by a scientific committee would never allow its volunteers to sit on turtles in order to take selfies. "It is disgusting and unpleasant. This is exploitation, mistreatment and abuse—nothing resembling volunteering", the post said.
After the situation gained publicity and Vadym Oliinyk, who posted the video showing the cruel treatment of the turtle, received a wave of criticism, he posted another video on Instagram—this time with an apology. The man addressed the Oman Environment Authority and the organization involved in protecting green sea turtles and apologized. At the same time, according to him, he "did not pay attention to the rules for handling turtles" and "made a mistake".
After the video was shared, the situation was also discussed by Ukrainian users on Threads. One user wrote: "First you show what a tough guy you are, that you can climb onto a turtle. Your companion does the same. Then you record an apology and say that you were misled and did not see the rules", the network user wrote.
"There are instructions on all the beaches. The staff also mention it. And during the egg-laying season, controls are strengthened in general, and they make sure that no one damages the nest… They knew and understood perfectly well what they were doing", another user added.
"I would not be surprised if I were you. Very many parents tolerate this kind of attitude by their children toward animals. And these are adults who pass on such values", another user noted.
"I can’t watch the poor turtle trying to escape", another network user wrote indignantly.
Later, according to information from the Italian environmental protection project Biologicamente, the "heroes" of the video were stopped at the airport.
"An update regarding the two tourists who sat on the shell of a female turtle while holding her newly hatched babies: my post went viral in Oman, especially thanks to you sharing it… The two tourists were stopped by police at the airport! This time, reporting to the competent authorities worked. Thank you for publishing it. Thank you", the project’s post said.
The author of the post thanked everyone concerned about the situation and also promised to keep people informed about further developments related to the incident. "The fake guides involved in this episode were also fined", the post said.