Dead Sea Turtle Hatchlings Found With Dog Bites at Playa del Carmen Beach

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Residents and environmental activists say they found around 10 dead sea turtle hatchlings, many of them bearing dog bites, on the beaches known as Punta Esmeralda in Playa del Carmen, though some accounts put the number of dead hatchlings as high as 50.

The discovery has alarmed activists and residents of nearby neighborhoods, who said people continue bringing their dogs to the beaches. Residents Antonio Gutiérrez, Noé Mendoza and Andrés Santoyo described the scene.

Activists Liliana Hernández and Luis Morales called on the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Profepa) to investigate the deaths and to restrict dog access to the coastline, which they said poses a threat to marine wildlife.

“We are calling on the environment authorities of the Playa del Carmen municipal government to step in and investigate this attack on the hatchlings,” Gutiérrez said. “It is not right that people keep bringing their dogs down to the beaches. We have reported this before, but they have not taken us into account.”

Noé Mendoza, a resident of the Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta neighborhood, said he was saddened that the hatchlings fell victim to dog attacks, though he placed responsibility on the animals’ owners.

“For two years we have been reporting the presence of dogs on Playa 72, but the municipal government of this city has not taken the matter seriously,” Hernández said. “Now we are seeing the consequences. It is reprehensible.”

Morales said the coastline stretching from Punta Esmeralda through Playa 88 and Playa 72 to Avenida CTM is a nesting area for sea turtles, yet the municipal Environment Department, headed by Kandy Mendoza Ramírez, has failed to make it a priority. He said the department did not strengthen surveillance and inspection measures during the turtle arrival season, and that Profepa should have coordinated prevention efforts but gave the issue little importance.

The activists said protecting the small, defenseless turtles is a shared responsibility that involves government authorities, specialized nesting camps and, above all, the general public, because hatchlings face extreme risks from natural predators and human activity. They added that municipal officials have failed to establish protocols despite the recurrent threats they have reported.