Animal cruelty ... at sea as well! From today's INDEPENDENT.

Some divers who came across a rare sight some time ago – a marine turtle swimming towards Comino – were faced with a sad reality as they discovered what is suspected to be the same turtle’s head, just off Mgarr harbour on Tuesday, the owners of a Xlendi-based diving school told this newspaper.The turtle was first discovered by divers at Hondoq ir-Rummien, a popular diving spot opposite the Blue Lagoon in Comino. Being an extremely rare sight, the divers stopped to watch the turtle, which was lying on the grass and begin swimming to the surface, before it started swimming towards Comino.The diving instructor who spoke to The Malta Independent said he has been diving in the area for about 12 years and never came across a turtle. Turtle numbers have declined sharply in recent years; this is one of the reasons behind jellyfish infestations, since the turtle is one of its main predators.Marine turtles are very old reptiles and all eight remaining species are experiencing serious threats to their survival. Because of this, marine turtles are protected by a number of international conventions, including some regional ones. All marine turtles recorded in Maltese marine territory are protected by local legislation. Out of these eight different species, sightings of five of them have been recorded in Malta, the most common one being the loggerhead turtle.The divers discovered the turtle again in Mgarr harbour, but this time, only the head remained as testament to this majestic animal. The owners of the diving school said blood was still fresh around the turtle’s neck and its eyes were still greasy – all indicating a recent killing. Unfortunately, when the divers went to the Mgarr police station to file a report, they were told that nothing could be done about the situation. “Even after further protest they were unable to make any progress as all they had accomplished was to have the officer in charge ‘call his superiors’, which needless to say meant that nothing would be done about it,” complained the owner of the diving school, adding that it is about time something was done about this very sorry state of affairs.