Animal Welfare
We at Travel to Teach are proud to offer our volunteers the chance to work within the animal welfare and turtle conservation sector.
Meanguera Island in El Salvador is the breeding ground for a number of species of sea turtle including the critically endangered species of Hawkbill, the world’s largest breed of turtle, the shell-less leatherback, and the endangered Olive Ridley turtle. All of these species are in decline for various reasons including accidental fishing trawls, pollution, and specifically on Meanguera Island the big problem of the local population eating their eggs as part of their tradition.
During the nesting season, one of the most common problems is the theft of eggs to sell on the black market. The reasons that people eat them are somewhat complex because this practice links back to ancient customs and popular beliefs.
The use and consumption of sea turtle meat and eggs date back to pre-Hispanic times, where it formed part of the regular diet of indigenous cultures, who took advantage of these animals merely because they were nutritious, without any pre conceived ideas that consummation equaled extraordinary powers.
Nowadays, the fishing of sea turtles is solely for their livelihood, whilst they maintain a conservational approach, capturing only what they would consume. Mexican folklore has since magically bestowed the turtle egg with mysterious (and completely baseless) aphrodisiacal powers, which has contributed to the decline of natural populations of sea turtles, despite a federal law prohibiting the consumption of turtle eggs or any products or by-products.
At some point in more recent history, turtle eggs were said to possess certain qualities relating to fertility and used as an aphrodisiac, which has no scientific basis and is simply linked to machismo. Although the origin of this belief is difficult to pin point, it is believed to have arisen in part by the observation of turtles during mating, which can last continuously between 4 to 8 hours.
Travel to Teach
We have over 50 Projects in 30 Locations, in 13 Countries, on 4 Continents.Regardless of whether turtle eggs are healthy or are aphrodisiac, their continued consumption will inevitably contribute to their extinction. People living on the coast are driven more by habit than necessity, and foreign tourists are often simply keen to try to eat something exotic. Those who continue to eat them say that although they are generally eaten raw, they do not dare to eat them alone, because their taste and texture are not pleasing to the palate. So they add chili and lemon to mask the taste, so in reality it is not eaten for the taste of the egg itself, but the lemon and chili.
In the end, and no matter what their taste or energy content, we must recognise that the continued consumption of turtle eggs is contributing to the disappearance of more than one species of turtle from the face of the earth.
People who justify their consumption, arguing that "turtle lay many eggs" forget that only 1 out of every 1,000 baby turtles that are born will reach adulthood, the egg they eat could be that turtle.
If we want a better world, we must be willing to make a difference. We will not die of hunger if we do not eat turtle eggs. Instead, we can contribute to restoring the natural cycle of sea turtles; a cycle that we have broken.
On Meanguera Island in El Salvador our volunteers can work at the Don Chentillo Hatchery between September and December, where they can help the turtles hatch and survive their first 3 months until they are ready to make their way to the sea. This is the most critical stage in the turtle’s life as they are vulnerable to natural predators during this period.