The Harm of Good Intentions - turtles

Came across an interesting argument and perspective on the issue of keeping turtle hatchlings and releasing them until they are stronger.

The argument of this article posted on the WWF Philippines blog puts forward a compelling argument as to why turtle hatchlings should be left and not collected, fattened up and then release later. Essentially the argument is as follows:

1. Within the first 24 hours of life turtle instinct is to go out beyond the surf zone to catch major currents. They are carried to development areas where they remain until strong enough to migrate distances, it is during this period that the turtles learn about the currents and their migration routes. Key to their survival.


2. The turtles reproduction process has proven very successful, without human intervention and has enabled the turtles to out live the dinosaurs.

Obviously turtles need a helping hand when human interference is affecting the survival, such as egg collection or fishing by catch but other than that, maybe we should leave them alone...?

Are they right..?

Full article can be found here:
http://newsfromkkp.blogspirit.com/archive/2006/03/21/the-harm-of-good-intentions.html