A turtle that had swallowed a piece of plastic and recently been nursed back to health was helped back back home by none other than Prince Charles himself. The Prince, who was in Malta to deliver a keynote speech at the Our Ocean global summit, carried the loggerhead turtle towards the waterline, before placing him gently on the sand.

After the turtle enjoyed the lingering feeling of the Prince’s fingers for a few moments, it calmly started making its way to the water, to encouragement from the watching crowd

The Prince of Wales was meeting with veterinarians from Nature Trust at Golden Bay to discuss what can be done about the rising levels of plastic in our oceans, with the Prince lamenting that “plastic is now on the menu” since most fish caught for food now contain bits of plastic that humans have dumped into the ocean.

He addressed the growing threat to the seas due to our modern lifestyles, that are leading to animals like this turtle to suffer needlessly. 

The Prince used the opportunity to launch a Blue Economy Initiative, which is a joint effort between Prince Charles’ International Sustainability Unit and the World Resources Institute that supports ocean-protecting policies and investments.

The Prince closed with a call for action. ‘We must act now. How, otherwise, will future generations ever forgive us for destroying the viability of the natural world that is our ultimate sustainer?’ he asked.

Do you think we need to act now to stop destroying our oceans? Let us know in comments below.

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Johnathan Cilia

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]