BP is burning endangered sea turtles alive.
by
CREDO Action
News has just emerged from the Gulf Coast that BP is burning endangered sea turtles alive.
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A boat captain who has been leading efforts to rescue the endangered turtles says BP has blocked his crews from entering the areas where the animals are trapped, effectively shutting down the rescue operation.
BP is using "controlled burns" to contain the oil spill. Shrimp boats create a corral of oil by dragging together fire-resistant booms and then lighting the enclosed "burn box" on fire. If turtles are not removed from the area before the fire is lit, they are literally burned alive.
The sea turtle most affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the Kemp's Ridley
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As a result, BP perversely has a financial incentive to allow the endangered turtles to burn rather than allow rescue crews to cull them from the burn boxes before the containment fires are lit.
"They ran us out of there and then they shut us down, they would not let us get back in there," said turtle rescuer Mike Ellis in an interview with conservation biologist Catherine Craig that was posted on YouTube.com.
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