All five sea turtle species in US waters face welfare challenges from bycatch, plastic ingestion, beach threats, and warming that affects their reproduction, with recovery varying dramatically across species.
Sea turtles with fibropapillomatosis develop large tumors on their eyes, flippers, and internal organs that impair vision, swimming, and feeding. Turtles with severe tumor burdens cannot feed effectively and become emaciated. Plastic ingestion causes intestinal obstruction and the false sensation of satiation as plastic fills the gut without providing nutrition, causing starvation while appearing to be full. Entangled turtles drown. Beach threats including artificial lighting and beach furniture create a gauntlet that kills hatchlings by the thousands. These welfare harms affect animals whose life history - slow maturation over decades, strong site fidelity, long lives - means each individual represents substantial biological investment.