Sea turtles are severely impacted by plastic pollution in the world's oceans, ingesting plastic debris that causes intestinal blockages, toxicity, and slow death in millions of individuals annually.
Plastic ingestion causes prolonged welfare harm. A turtle with significant gut plastic may feel full, stop foraging, and slowly starve — experiencing hunger, weakness, and eventually organ failure over weeks to months. Gut perforations cause infection and internal pain. The scale of the problem is vast and growing: ocean plastic concentrations continue to increase despite cleanup efforts. Individual rehabilitation of ingested-plastic turtles is valuable but cannot address the systemic source. The most effective welfare interventions target plastic at source: extended producer responsibility legislation, plastic bag bans, improved waste management in coastal communities, and river plastic interception before ocean entry. Consumer pressure to reduce single-use plastic and corporate commitments to packaging reduction directly reduce the welfare burden on sea turtles and other marine wildlife.