Tell me about the turtle farm!

[Cheeseboy]

My wife loves turtles - just loves them. And she's pregnant, so we're not going to be doing anything too terribly strenuous in Grand Cayman...so this sounds like a neat place to visit. Can anyone tell me about their experience?

[OliverTheCat]

This was one of the highlights of my cruise when I went there.

 

I too love turtles. I got to pick them up and hold them and pet them, etc. The farm is small, and the turtles are crowded in some tanks, but I just loved the excursion. I thought the tour was just long enough too. Little fellas were adorable. They have all sizes of turtles, some being HUGE!

 

The lady in the gift shop was really rude though!! I was like WHOA!

[Cheeseboy]

Thanks - I'm thinking this is the perfect little harmless side trip to work into our schedule that day. Rude gift shop staff be damned!

[benjidog]

We loved the gift shop and didn't meet up with any rude staff. Hopefully it will be nice for your wife too. We bought a glass turtle for my daughter-in-law and a stuffed one for my grandson.

[OliverTheCat]

Yeah I am sure the lady that I encountered no longer works there.

 

Have a great time at turtle farm :) I am a little jealous since I cant make it back there til 2007 stop in Caymans. This year just no time!!!

[D4]

Your wife will love the turtle farm. There are lots of different 'swimming pools' of them and they are grouped by size. There is one pool where they let you pick them up and hold them. They aren't the largest ones, but they are pretty big - maybe about the diameter of a basketball. You can get terrific photos! I always bring wet wipes and hand sanitizer to use after holding them. That will be especially important for your wife.

 

We've been to GC many times and each time my DH and kids (who are now 18 & 21) always want to go back to the turtle farm.

[sclitlady]

Make certain that your wife does not handle the turtles much and that she immedeiately washes her hands with hot water and soap if she does. According to The American Pregnacy Association:Exposure to the feces of lizards, iguanas, turtles, frogs, snakes and other reptiles or amphibians opens the door to the transmission of the salmonella bacteria which can negatively affect your pregnancy. Just wanted to add a warning. Have fun just play it safe.

[Sheffie]

Also, did you realize that they grow these turtles to eat them? I don't know if that would upset her or not. Forewarned is forearmed!

[Nebr.cruiser]

I thought the turtle farm was just ok--kind of neat, but nothing that will blow you away. It was maybe worth about 15 minutes, and that's about all it takes. Kids would love it, I think. I sure wouldn't go out of my way to see it again!

[bruce-r]

The turtle farm should be OK as long as you realize that it is a farm. The turtles are raise primarily as a product. Only a few are released back into the ocean.

[Cheeseboy]

Thanks for ALL the replies...don't worry, as far as ther hand-washing, etc., she'll be all over that one already! ;-)

[OliverTheCat]

Also, did you realize that they grow these turtles to eat them? I don't know if that would upset her or not. Forewarned is forearmed!

 

Are you serious??? I dont recall them saying that on tour!! That stinks!!!

[Capt_BJ]

Are you serious??? I dont recall them saying that on tour!! That stinks!!!

 

Turtle cordon-bleu -- yum yum; turtle stew, turtle steak, turtle soup ... all available in CI if you stay out of the relocated US resturants. and various other products - turtle shell products like hair combs (what? did you think they shed?) various skin products from turtle oils....

 

This is THE major gripe CI has with USA. Their ONE significant product for export is turtle and the US prohibits any and all import of turtle products. CI gets back at us by refusing to release banking data. Hence a haven for off shore accounts and a wonderful economy.

[carallard]

You would have to be one sick twisted individual to say you love turtles and then pay to go to a place that raises them for human consumption. Please dont love anyone near and dear to me

[Capt_BJ]

Turtle cordon-bleu -- yum yum; turtle stew, turtle steak, turtle soup ... all available in CI if you stay out of the relocated US resturants. and various other products - turtle shell products like hair combs (what? did you think they shed?) various skin products from turtle oils....

 

This is THE major gripe CI has with USA. Their ONE significant product for export is turtle and the US prohibits any and all import of turtle products. CI gets back at us by refusing to release banking data. Hence a haven for off shore accounts and a wonderful economy.

 

see: http://www.turtle.ky/history.htm

 

"

Cayman Turtle Farm was established in 1968 as Mariculture Ltd. by a group of investors from the United States and Great Britain as a facility to raise the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, for commercial purposes. The intention was to supply the market with a source of product that did not deplete the wild populations further....

 

After much work was put into pioneering the requirements of domesticating this wild animal, regulations designed to protect the sea turtle prevented the sale of even the farmed turtle product in the U. S. and many other countries. With close to 100,000 turtles to feed and care for and unable to sell its products to continue a cash flow, Mariculture Ltd. consequently went bankrupt in 1975. ...

 

The Cayman Islands Government then purchased this mini farm in 1983 and has since operated it as a private company, Cayman Turtle Farm (1983) Ltd. The goal of this new company is to produce enough turtles to supply the needs of the local market and continue releasing turtles...

 

 

During 1998 Cayman Turtle Farm processed 2,059 turtles, producing 108,104 lb. of meat for the local market. All products come from F1 turtles.

 

"

 

so you say they don't mention that in the tour .... I wonder why?

 

Don't flame me - yes, they also do a lot of research and they do releases that are helping to restore the population. However, that is not the primary reason it exists. Touristism is the main income keeping the farm open and the product on the dinner table....

[sharecruises]

Hi...I am not a vegetarian, but this just sort of sickens me LOL

 

if I took the tour, could I stay outside the turtle farm, is there any shops, restaurant, internet cafe there where i could hang out for the time the people are in there?

 

I am the sort of person who would be 'bothered" by this, I just do NOT think it is fun, I live in a tourist trap area myself (ft lauderdale) and there is stuff here i would NOT do, like watching sleepy alligators 'wrested' by seminoles etc..<grin>

 

I am also thinking about just doing grand cayman myself, maybe a hotel day pass or ? any ideas appreciated..thanks

 

Cheri

Imagination 5/8-5/13

[benjidog]

There is a nice large gift shop. But don't go to the restaurant. You don't want to know what kind of soup they serve.

[Capt_BJ]

cow.....chicken....lamb

 

come on .....

 

I got to tell you that I like turtle

 

sorry .... tell PETA

 

what we're talking about here is an animal raised on a farm for food

 

if you don't want to eat it...fine....

 

but unless you are a hardcore veggan - way beyond a 'vegitarian' - you are just hung up on feelings

 

all I'm pointing out is the 'farm' implies they are a grow and release operation......NOT.

[drew sailbum]

The Cayman Turtle Farm is aptly named. It is being incorportated into the Boatswain's Beach development which is currently under construction.

 

The TF is, first and foremost, a farm. Large numbers of turtles are raised for human consumption. A few are released each year.

 

A lot of the demand for turtle meat comes from the tourism sector. The desire to try a turle steak, or turtle stew directly drives this business. I have rarely seen (ok, don't ever recall, but don't want to say never) turtle in the grocery stores here. Demand seems to be mostly for the restaurant trade, which is largely tourist driven.

 

Trade in turtle products is restricted owing to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora), and is not merely a US thing. I don't think it has much to do with Cayman banking laws.

 

By the way, the largest export product from the Cayman Islands is Rum Cake. Yummm... and no turtles were harmed in the making of rum cakes.

[gmpegasus]

Also, did you realize that they grow these turtles to eat them? I don't know if that would upset her or not. Forewarned is forearmed!

 

Here, Here! Come on folks! We drive by BUffalo & cattle ranches (not raised for release!) & chicken ranches, & how 'bout Trout Farms! The Turtles aren't endangered, & the by-product use is monitored & limited.

 

I wouldn't tell little kids what the farms sells the Turtles for, but where else will they get to experience the wonder of holding the little guys! Don't buy the turtle products, if you don't want. I'm not in the turtle soup line either or wearing any turtle shell items, but they were fun to visit & touch.

[Cheeseboy]

Wow, this one sure has taken an interesting turn!

 

I'm not sure what's more amusing to me - watching seemingly innocent threads like this one deteriorate into moral battlegrounds, or the fact that impassioned, multiple-thread fistfights concerning the dress code policy (and the endless intracacies and permutations relating to the connotations of its specific wording) mutliply like rabbits every day on these boards!!!

 

Jesus. Almost makes me want to skip the cruise and go back to work!

[Sheffie]

Here, Here! Come on folks! We drive by BUffalo & cattle ranches (not raised for release!) & chicken ranches, & how 'bout Trout Farms! The Turtles aren't endangered, & the by-product use is monitored & limited.

 

I wouldn't tell little kids what the farms sells the Turtles for, but where else will they get to experience the wonder of holding the little guys! Don't buy the turtle products, if you don't want. I'm not in the turtle soup line either or wearing any turtle shell items, but they were fun to visit & touch.

 

I just wanted the OP to have this knowledge. This type of thing bothers some people, and seeing as how his DW "loves turtles" I didn't want him to put her in a situation that he wouldn't want to. I know that my mother wished she knew about this fact before she went there - she wouldn't have gone if she'd known.

[Cheeseboy]

I appreciate that, Sheffie, and certainly don't mean to trivialize this issue in any way to those who are genuinely bothered by it. Just getting quite a chuckle lately in general about the overall angst in so many of the threads on these boards. Are we all really going on VACATION here, or to march on the Capitol?

[Eliot Ness]

My wife loves turtles - just loves them. And she's pregnant, so we're not going to be doing anything too terribly strenuous in Grand Cayman...so this sounds like a neat place to visit. Can anyone tell me about their experience?

In an unrelated thread I just found this link that has several pictures of the turtle farm....... maybe it will give you a better idea of what to expect (the turtles do look pretty cool!):

 

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2125298192&code=18123641&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite

 

John

[drew sailbum]

The Turtles aren't endangered, & the by-product use is monitored & limited.

 

Actually, the whole point is that the Green Sea Turtle is Endangered.

 

This is a designation reached on an international level by CITES and the IUCN.

 

Species: Chelonia mydas

Common Name: Green Sea Turtle

Redlist 2000 Listing: Endangered (EN - A1abd) Marine Turtle Specialist Group

An appeal against the 1996 listing of this species was received from N. Mrosovksy in May 2000. This is being dealt with by a formal petitions process.