Sea turtle conservation has focused heavily on protecting nesting beaches and running hatchery programs. The welfare implications of hatchery intervention and beach management are increasingly examined.
Sea turtle hatcheries intervene in natural incubation to protect eggs from threats, but the welfare implications of this intervention are not always considered. Egg relocation can disturb incubation conditions if not performed carefully within the first 12 hours after laying. Hatchery conditions must match natural beach temperatures to avoid skewed sex ratios - all-female cohorts would impair future population recovery. Hatchlings emerging on managed beaches face disorientation from artificial beach lighting - a stressful experience that can be fatal if they exhaust themselves moving inland. The welfare of individual hatchlings during release - including handling time, surface temperature, and release timing - has received increasing attention from conservation programs.