While some Vietnamese are taking steps to save them, the country continues to struggle with protecting its endangered sea turtles.

Last Thursday, Nha Trang police seized thousands of stuffed sea turtles from two downtown warehouses, reports Tuoi Tre.

Police said that they stumbled upon 1,359 kilos of the dead marine animals, many of which contained tracking chips used by scientists to study them.

The proprietor, Hoang Tuan Hai, told police that he has been purchasing the turtles for over 5 years (buying them for VND200,000 – VND300,000 each), making them into handicrafts and selling them to tourists, adding that he was unaware that his exploits were illegal:

“I thought that it is illegal to trade in live sea turtles, not dead ones,” he said.

Nguyen Duyen Thanh, from the Inspectorate of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the species is on the “verge of extinction.”

Truly sad stuff.

[Tuoi Tre]