Turtle Eggs on Malaysian Menu

Turtle eggs are openly sold in markets in parts of Malaysia. Turtles once arrived in their thousands to lay eggs on Malaysian beaches, but are now increasingly rare thanks to poaching and coastal development.

The five-month online campaign aims to collect 40,000 signatures from Malaysians pledging to stop consuming the eggs and halt the trade in turtles and their parts.

"Turtles play a critical role in keeping marine ecosystems healthy," WWF-Malaysia executive director Dionysius S.K. Sharma said in a statement.

"Marine turtles are threatened with extinction due to various factors, including the practice of consuming turtle eggs, becoming accidentally caught in fishing gear, poorly planned coastal development, marine and nesting beach pollution as well as illegal trade of turtles and their parts," he said...