DATELINE: 14th May 2001

TURTLE CARE
The Marine Conservation Society has launched its Marine Turtle Conservation Programme at London's Natural History Museum, with Environment Minister Michael Meacher on hand to endorse the project.
The world's largest turtle, the leatherback, appears off Britain in the summer, while five of the world's seven species of marine turtle have been spotted off Britain at one time or another. Quite how the project, funded by Cheltenham and Gloucester, will conserve turtles is unclear, but a major problem is dumped rubbish such as plastic bags that are taken for jellyfish and eaten, with disastrous consequences. So the main message is the same as for many other marine animals and birdlife: keep your rubbish out of the sea.

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