Is it illegal for tourists to throw coins into the turtle pond?

On June 27, at Changsha Martyrs Park Ocean World

a giant sea turtle choked to death after accidentally eating a coin thrown by a tourist. Yesterday, the staff salvaged 5 coins from the turtle pond. Project manager Zhao Chenggang appealed: "Turtles are very curious, please don't throw debris into the turtle pond."

Ocean World is located in the Martyrs Park Recreation Ground. It was completed in October 2015 and covers an area of ??more than 400 square meters. More than 200 species of marine life are raised. The turtle pond is near the entrance of Sea World. Two turtles and a hawksbill turtle swim freely in the turtle pond. "We introduced them from Hainan." Zhao Chenggang told reporters that there were originally three turtles and one hawksbill turtle in the turtle pond, but the largest turtle had been dead for more than three months.

The veterinarian dissected the turtle's body and found a one-yuan coin from its throat. They also found a slag-like foreign object the size of an egg in the turtle's intestines. "It was corroded by stomach acid, maybe a plastic bag or something." The veterinarian said after identification: "The coin got stuck in the turtle's throat, causing it to suffocate and die."

This big turtle died after Sea World has been living for more than a year and is very popular with tourists. After the turtle died, several children who often came here were still asking: "Where did the big turtle go?" Zhao Chenggang said that the longest-lived turtle can live to about 150 years old. It is the longevity star in the ocean, and there are "ten thousand-year turtles" He said, "But the dead turtle was only 20 years old."

It is not advisable to throw coins to pray for blessings. Because of its longevity, turtles are regarded as mascots among the people. In major tourist resorts, wherever there are turtles, people always throw coins into the pond as a custom in the hope of longevity and health. But this way of praying poses a threat to the turtle's survival.

Yesterday morning, the staff once again found several coins in the turtle pond. They quickly used wooden sticks to drive the turtles and hawksbills aside and picked out the coins. Zhou Hui showed reporters the five coins he picked up from the turtle pond: two 1-cent coins, one 5-cent coin, and two game coins.

The reporter saw a notice posted on the edge of the turtle pond: "Tourists are not allowed to bring their own food." Zhou Hui said that sea turtles are omnivores, and they feed them squid, yellow croaker, sea cabbage and other foods, which are all fresh, clean and sterilized. The food brought privately is unhygienic and the turtles will easily get sick if they eat it, let alone the coins. "Some tourists also throw plastic bags and betel nut residue into it."

Lawyer Zhang Guizhi from Hunan Hongyi Law Firm said: "It is not advisable to throw coins into the turtle pond to pray for blessings. Turtles are national second-level protected animals, and the law It is prohibited to deface RMB. This way of praying is actually illegal. ”