X-rated egg rush in Terengganu

KUALA TERENGGANU: Market traders here are openly selling endangered turtle eggs, much to the shock

and dismay of the state authorities.

Under the law, only licensed collectors are allowed to harvest the eggs which must be sold to the Fisheries

Department, which then sends the eggs to incubators to be hatched.

State Agriculture and Agro-based committee chairman Ashaari Idris stressed that the belief that turtle eggs

could improve sexual prowess was a myth. This, however, has failed to stop couples wanting to revive their

flagging sex lives from buying the eggs.

Salleh Solat, who has been trading at the market for over two decades, said he had buyers from as far as

Kuala Lumpur.

He sells the Green Turtle eggs at RM30 for a packet of 10 and said he could get double or triple the price

during off-season.

“There is a huge demand for these eggs as they can also be used to treat asthma and backaches,” he claimed.

He added that he previously sold eggs supplied from Sabah and Indonesia but there was now a great demand

for Terengganu eggs.

This was because the locally laid eggs can be obtained for sale within a few hours of collection and therefore

fresher, compared with eggs from elsewhere which took about two weeks to reach here.

Salleh said he got his supplies from two agents, but declined to name them.

The endangered Green Turtle is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle in the world. Females lay their eggs at night

in a process that takes two hours, each time laying 110 to 115 eggs.

The leatherback and Olive Ridley turtles are already said to be close to extinction in Terengganu while the

number of Hawksbill and Green Turtles has also plunged drastically.

It has been reported that a leading cause for the decline of turtle species is egg consumption.

From - The Star