Cayman Farm Postpones Plan to Release 150 Turtles

A turtle breeding farm in the Cayman Islands has postponed plans to release 150 green sea turtles into the wild due to rough seas.

The government-owned Cayman Turtle Farm says the release planned for Sunday has been called off because of choppy waters. Officials expect to release the captive-bred creatures next weekend.

The Florida-based Sea Turtle Conservancy and the London-headquartered World Society for the Protection of Animals are urging the Cayman Turtle Farm to stop farming turtles.

Critics oppose releasing farmed turtles because they could pass on diseases to turtles in the wild, but farm officials say they only release healthy ones.

Over the years, thousands of tourists have flocked to the facility to watch tagged turtles getting released into the sea.