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ARCHIVED - Altea launches campaign to control invasive Florida turtles
Increasing numbers of the exotic turtles inhabit the Algar River in the Marina Baixa, Alicante province.
Altea has launched a campaign to control an increasing number of exotic and invasive Florida turtles which inhabit the mouth of the Algar River in the municipality.
The turtles are usually bought as pets but often end up being released into the river by their owners, which causes an imbalance in the populations of native fauna, ultimately affecting the health and condition of the river and the reproduction of other animals that live in and around the water.
"The problems caused by these turtles are very diverse at an environmental level and can indirectly affect public health," according to environmentalists in Altea.
For this reason, a management campaign has been launched to remove the Florida turtle from the mouth of the river.
The turtles are being captured by specialist firm Verd Environmental and transferred to the Wildlife Recovery Centre in Santa Faz 50 km away.
"The main objective of this campaign is to improve the ecological status of the Algar River and raise awareness about the hazards of releasing household pets into natural areas," says the local authority.
Florida turtles have increasingly become victims of illegal poaching in America over the last few years and in 2019, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission saw its largest seizure of captured turtles in recent history, with 4,000 of the species recovered before being shipped overseas.
IMAGE: Ayuntamiento de Altea