Employees of the Sea Turtle Museum of Kumejima rushed to the beaches of Kumejima island after residents reported dozens of green sea turtles found with stab wounds to their necks and flippers on July 14. Several of the turtles were reportedly found unmoving and bleeding upon the employees’ arrival. “Many of the turtles appeared dead. I have never seen anything like this before,” one of the workers told the Asahi Shimbun. “It is extremely difficult to process this.” More from NextShark: Thailand to allow chemical castration of sex offenders in exchange for reduced prison sentences The Okinawa Prefectural Police and the Kumejima Municipal Government are currently investigating the incident. The turtles were believed to have been stabbed by fishers after getting tangled in fishing nets. “I disentangled some of them and released them into the sea, but I couldn’t free heavy ones, so I stabbed them to get rid of them,” one fishery operator reportedly admitted, according to the Mainichi Shimbun. More from NextShark: Nevada man arrested for 1982 cold case murder of 5-year-old Anne Pham in California Green sea turtles are considered an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Japanese Environment Ministry. They are often found in the seaweed and kelp beds off Kumejima island, where conservation efforts have been ongoing. Featured Image via Jessica Wong More from NextShark: ‘Konkatsu’: 1 in 6 Japanese marriages are a result of spouse hunting services Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Elderly Vietnamese American man on morning walk fatally shot in unprovoked attack in Philadelphia
