Prince Charles helps release turtles back into the wild

The Prince of Wales has released a turtle made ill by plastic back into the sea after condemning the proliferation of the waste material in the world's oceans.
The Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta and veterinarians who work on the charity's Turtle Rehabilitation programme during his visit to MaltaThe Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta and veterinarians who work on the charity's Turtle Rehabilitation programme during his visit to Malta
The Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta and veterinarians who work on the charity's Turtle Rehabilitation programme during his visit to Malta

The Prince of Wales has released a turtle made ill by plastic back into the sea after condemning the proliferation of the waste material in the world's oceans.

Charles placed the female loggerhead turtle on to the golden sand at a beach in Malta after warning that the threat to the planet's marine ecology has reached a critical point where plastics are "now on the menu''.

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Speaking at an ocean conservation conference, the Prince highlighted how plastics were increasingly found in fish caught for the dinner table.

The Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta and veterinarians who work on the charity's Turtle Rehabilitation programme during his visit to MaltaThe Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta and veterinarians who work on the charity's Turtle Rehabilitation programme during his visit to Malta
The Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta and veterinarians who work on the charity's Turtle Rehabilitation programme during his visit to Malta

In his keynote address, he told delegates at the Our Ocean conference in St Julian's: "As many of you know so well, the eight million tonnes of plastic that enter the sea every year - through our own doing I might add - is now almost ubiquitous.

"For all the plastic that we have produced since the 1950s that has ended up in the ocean is still with us in one form or another, so that wherever you swim there are particles of plastic near you and we are very close to reaching the point when whatever wild-caught fish you eat will contain plastic.

"Plastic is indeed now on the menu."

Later, he watched as the turtle, named Denise and estimated to be 18 years old, made her way into the water at Golden Bay, after recovering from breathing problems caused by plastic she had eaten.

The Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta and veterinarians who work on the charity's Turtle Rehabilitation programme during his visit to MaltaThe Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta and veterinarians who work on the charity's Turtle Rehabilitation programme during his visit to Malta
The Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta and veterinarians who work on the charity's Turtle Rehabilitation programme during his visit to Malta
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Standing on the beach in his tailored suit and shirt and tie, Charles also helped to release two other loggerheads, also cared for by the Nature Trust Malta, which had both been snagged by fishing hooks.

He first picked an eight-year-old turtle named Tomisina, who had had a fishing hook removed from her throat - probably caused by trying to eat fish used for bait - and then helped Kirby, aged 15, who had a hook removed from a flipper.

When Kirby moved slowly along the sands and stopped, the Prince joked: "As long as it doesn't turn turtle - it's so marvellous."