PERTH Zoo has released vision of an endangered green sea turtle possibly suffering from plastic ingestion ahead of the plastic bag ban on July 1.
Spokeswoman Danielle Henry said the turtle was found unable to swim properly in Broome this week and was taken to Murdoch University’s Animal Hospital for a CT scan.
“The CT scan detects obstructions that a normal x-ray will not, such as plastics,” she said.
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READ NOW“Sadly, plastics are a massive problem for sea turtles and other marine life.
“They often mistake it for food and ingest it or become tangled in the rubbish, which usually causes terrible injuries and often very painful deaths.”
Ms Henry said the zoo was still waiting for the results of the scan but if they confirmed plastic, the turtle would probably die.
She also highlighted another recent case involving a young loggerhead turtle that started defecating plastic.
The loggerhead turtle died.
Ms Henry said the plight of turtle were important to highlight to “help consumers understand the reality of why the plastic ban bag is important”.
MORE: Everything you need to know about the July 1 plastic bag ban