Three people dead and dozens more sick after eating sea turtle stew 'that also killed dogs, cats and chickens'
2 December 2024, 15:20 | Updated: 2 December 2024, 15:22
Three people have died and over 30 more were rushed to hospital after eating a stew made from an endangered sea turtle.
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Dozens of people reported food poisoning symptoms after eating the dish, which is considered a traditional delicacy, at a seaside town in the Philippines.
It is illegal to hunt or consume sea turtles under the country’s environmental protection laws.
Datu Mohamad Sinsuat Jr, a local councillor, said that he has told local officials to strictly enforce the ban on hunting sea turtles in the region, vowing “this food poisoning incident will never happen again”.
Sea turtles can be toxic when cooked and eaten if the animal had consumed a type of contaminated algae when alive - even if the animal outwardly appeared healthy.
According to the BBC, some of the dogs, cats and chickens that were fed from the same stew also died.
Local media reported that most of the people who were hospitalised had been discharged, and that the three people who died were buried immediately.
Earlier this year, eight children and an adult died after eating sea turtle meat on Pemba Island in the Zanzibar archipelago.
