California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Turtle Slaughter in Mexico Protested

An environmental organization condemned the slaughter off the Mexican coast of thousands of endangered giant sea turtles for their skin, which is made into high-fashion shoes and purses. Todd Steiner, a research biologist and director of the Earth Island Institute, recently returned from San Augustimillo in Oaxaca where he and other environmentalists reported seeing heads and flippers from olive ridley turtles floating in the surf near a slaughterhouse. He said fishermen were reluctant to discuss their capture and slaughter of 800 turtles, 99% of them females coming to shore to lay eggs. Although Mexico allows the annual slaughter of 20,000 of the turtles, Steiner said there were indications that illegal killings bring the toll to 75,000.