WATCH: Heartbreaking ‘Turtle Journey’ Video Shows Ocean Degradation
In a touching new short film entitled “Turtle Journey,” Greenpeace UK highlights ocean destruction from a family of sea turtles’ point of view.
To create the film, Greenpeace teamed up with Aardman Animations (the claymation animators behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep), as well as Oscar-winning actors and stars from hit shows like “Game of Thrones,” “Downton Abbey” and “Stranger Things.”
The powerful animation follows the family of turtles as they make their way across the seafloor to their home on a coral reef. Along the way, they come across destructions such as mounds of ocean plastics, underwater oil drilling, overfishing and climate breakdown.
“We have driven our oceans to a breaking point, but it’s a story that doesn’t get told often enough,” Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace UK, writes in a blog.
Out of the seven species of sea turtles, six are currently threatened with extinction due to threats such as those featured in “Turtle Journey,” as well as additional species-specific stressors that inhibit their survivability.
For example, climate change is creating a gender gap for turtles due to the temperature being a determining factor of offspring sex. They are poached extensively for their eggs, meat and shells. And coastal development, artificial lighting and beach erosion severely disrupt their nesting process.
“The story of this turtle family trying to get home in a damaged and changing ocean is a reality for so many marine creatures that are having their habitats destroyed by human activities,” says actress Olivia Colman, who voices a character in the film. “I hope this film inspires more people to take action to protect our oceans.”
Greenpeace created the film as a way to draw attention to a new Global Ocean Treaty being negotiated by the UN. The treaty provides a framework that could lead to the creation of a global network of marine sanctuaries.
“This is a unique opportunity to protect our ocean and the amazing array of life that call it home, but it won’t happen without the support of a huge movement of people,” McCallum writes. “We need your voice to help pile pressure on your government, so that they support a strong Global Ocean Treaty when they meet with other world leaders at the UN.”
Visit the Green Peace website to sign the petition to support the Global Ocean Treaty.
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