Crammed together, mishandled, and eaten | World Animal Protection Skip to main content
Home
Please donate

Main menu - UK

  • Home
  • Who we are
    • Our beliefs
    • Our history
    • How your money is spent
    • How we are run
  • What we do
    • Animals in the wild
    • Animals in communities
    • Animals in farming
    • Animals in disasters
    • Success stories
  • Get involved
    • Make a donation
    • Play our weekly lottery
    • Adopt a Bear
    • Fundraise for us
    • A gift in your Will
    • Shop
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Blogs
Cayman turtle centre

Incredible! 129,203 of you urged Carnival Cruise Lines to end trips to Cayman Turtle Centre, where turtles are abused for entertainment and farmed for meat. Share this achievement now!

Share this achievement

Breadcrumb

  1. Home ›
  2. Crammed together, mishandled, and eaten
Find us on social media:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Crammed together, mishandled, and eaten

Cayman Turtle Centre: Island Wildlife Encounter (CTC) in the Cayman Islands is the only attraction in the world where tourists can handle farmed sea turtles.

Formerly known as Cayman Turtle Farm, the venue recently underwent a sleek, friendlier-looking rebrand. However, the centre still intensively breeds thousands of endangered green sea turtles and enables tourists to eat their meat.

The Cayman Turtle Centre is the last sea turtle farm known to breed sea turtles for human consumption. But there is no humane way to farm these wild animals.
Cruise company Carnival Cruise Line sends tens of thousands of tourists to Cayman Turtle Centre every year.

Many visitors are unaware of the cruelty that goes on at the attraction.

One of the world’s cruellest attractions

Sea turtle farming is listed as one of the top 10 cruellest wildlife tourist attractions in our 2016 report Checking out of cruelty.

Conditions at the Cayman Turtle Centre make it impossible for turtles to express natural behaviours.

In their natural ocean habitats, green sea turtles can dive to depths of up to 140 metres, and can travel up to 5,000 kilometres in a year.

Sea turtles farmed at the tourist attraction cannot enjoy the freedom they would in the wild. Instead, they are subjected to unfit living conditions, and exploited in the name of tourist entertainment.

Turtles at Cayman Turtle Centre:

  • are mishandled by tourists using them as photo props for holiday selfies,
  • suffer severe wounds, skin lesions, injuries, stress, deformities and disease, often due to cramped conditions in tanks,
  • endure being on public display in shallow tanks where they cannot freely swim,
  • sometimes bite and maim each other, often due to stress,
  • and suffer genetic defects from in-breeding, such as being born without eyes.

The conditions they’re subjected to in the name of entertainment are further detailed in our report, Cayman Turtle Farm: A continued case for support.

Share on social media

One of the world’s largest cruise companies still sends tens of thousands of tourists to Cayman Turtle Centre every year. The attraction inflicts severe cruelty upon endangered turtles.

Facebook
Twitter

Or copy this link and share it by email or other apps

Carnival: Please do the right thing for wild animals

Around 20% of the world’s cruise passengers travel on Carnival Cruise Lines ships. The business is incredibly influential and must lead by example.

Cayman Turtle Centre heavily relies on cruise ships for customers. More than 200,000 people visit the attraction each year, and around three quarters are cruise liner passengers.

We’ve repeatedly contacted Carnival Cruise Lines since January. But despite making our welfare concerns clear, the company won’t agree to stop taking boatloads of tourists to this cruel attraction.

Other tourism industry leaders such as Thomas Cook have listened to our supporters and made changes to their businesses to better protect wildlife. It’s time Carnival Cruise Lines helped move the world to protect animals too.

Please share this page now, and demand Carnival listens to 129,203 supporters.

Tell the world

  • twitter
  • facebook
  • linkedin
  • email
  • whatsapp

Get Involved

Make a donation
Play our weekly lottery
Fundraise for us
A gift in your will
Shop

Get email updates

Get the latest news and campaigns by email.

Sign up

Find us on social media

Keep up to date and take action.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Footer menu - UK

  • Careers
  • Contact us
  • Cookies and privacy policy
  • Policies
  • Press Centre

World Animal Protection. Company Limited by Guarantee in England and Wales, Registration No. 4029540. Registered Charity 1081849.
222 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8HB, United Kingdom