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Ocean Park followed a normal procedure concerning the death of the hawksbill turtle, and it has never tried to hide or delay any information on the loss of the turtle, said chairman of the park Allan Zeman.
A couple of days after it was saved from a cooking pot in a restaurant, the rare turtle died at Ocean Park. And the park released this news two days after the turtle's death.
"We have never delayed the release of the news, but we have to follow the normal procedures as we usually do," said Zeman. When the sea turtle died, Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) was notified of the incident immediately.
"We have no reason to hide from the public, and this is one of the ridiculous things I’ve ever heard," he said, "As it's not our sea turtle, and it belongs to the AFCD, we advised them in the first time." Zeman added that the park performed a necropsy to determine the cause of its death before they told the public of what happened.
The hawksbill turtle was sent to Ocean Park for an examination and a temporary stay on 5 September by the AFCD.
The turtle, which was 36cm long and approximately 10-20 years old appeared to be in good condition when it arrived at Ocean Park.
However, the sea turtle, which was underweight, showed signs of lack of appetite in the first two days, according to Zeman.
A detailed examination showed there was a metal fishing hook in its gullet, which was subsequently removed. Further radiographic examination also indicated that the turtle had likely ingested non-food material prior to its arrival at Ocean Park.
In the third day the turtle died. Additional tissue samples have been collected for further analysis of the cause of the turtle’s death.
Zeman said that Ocean Park has previously received a number of hawksbill turtles from the AFCD and many of them have been released back to the wild if their health condition were allowed.
