Cancún Asks Beachgoers to Leave Pets at Home to Protect Sea Turtle Nesting

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The Municipal Ecology Department is asking beachgoers not to bring pets to Cancun’s Hotel Zone beaches to avoid disturbing sea turtles during the five-month nesting season.

Fernando Haro Salinas, head of the department, said many visitors take their dogs to San Miguelito beach as if it were a pet-friendly spot, but it is not.

“San Miguelito beach is often used as a pet-friendly beach, but it is not. The Official Mexican Standard that protects sea turtle nesting does not allow pets in these nesting areas. So we are calling on Cancun residents not to bring their pets to this beach or any of the beaches along these 12 kilometers,” he said.

Haro also asked the public not to interact directly with turtles if they encounter them on the sand.

“Call 911, call the General Directorate of Ecology, or approach hotel maintenance staff, who are properly trained by us through our program with Semarnat (the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources),” he added.

The nesting season is now nearly into its third month. Haro noted that more than 80% of the 55 corrals planned for Cancun’s coastline have already been installed.

Over the past two months, officials have recorded 395 nests and approximately 4,300 eggs. The nesting season, which runs mainly from May to September, involves four species: hawksbill, white (green), loggerhead, and, to a lesser extent, leatherback turtles.

“We recommend that tourists — national and international — and Cancun residents respect the rules along these 12 kilometers of beach, which is the nesting zone from Punta Cancun to Punta Nizuc,” Haro concluded.