Five men off to jail for killing hawksbill turtle

Higuey, Dominican Republic.- The LaAltagracia Provincial Court on Monday ruled pretrial detention against JonathanBonilla Mejía, Juan Zapata Méndez, Carlos Zorrilla, Eduardo Penn and Julio Ramírez,charged with the killing of a hawksbill turtle on Saona Island.

Cotubanamá National Park (east) administratorPablo Javier, assisted by Enviroment Ministry officials from La Romana and LaAltagracia provinces, inspected several boats to uncover the felony.

The accused were aboard the ship MirthaXiomara and once they noted the official’s presence, threw the turtle meat ontothe beach, but was later found.

Environment minister Francisco Domínguez calledit a serious crime and issued instructions to assure the prosecution of theculprits.

"Some of the people involved in thiscruel practice market parts of the body of the turtle, including the shell. Thehawksbill (carey) is an endangered sea turtle variety."