Marine turtles are among the most severely affected species by plastic pollution, with ingestion causing blockages, starvation, and flotation syndrome that require specialist veterinary intervention.
Turtles suffering from plastic ingestion endure prolonged welfare insults including starvation, physical obstruction, and loss of normal behaviour due to buoyancy disorder. Stranded turtles requiring rehabilitation face additional stress from handling, transport, and captivity. Specialist turtle rehabilitation centres provide fluid therapy, nutritional support, and slow reintroduction of normal buoyancy. Not all affected turtles are detected or reach rehabilitation, meaning the true scale of suffering is much greater than clinical cases suggest.