While it may seem like a strange practice to some, in some places of the world, buying and selling live fish and all kinds of marine life for food is quite common.

One concerning one, in particular, would be live sea turtles where it's still possible to buy them for food. Most sea turtles are classified as endangered or vulnerable across the world but it is still currently legal to fish for marine turtles in areas, such as Mexico, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. These small creatures are harvested for their meat and shells in those countries and sold dead or sometimes alive at a variety of fish markets.

Rescue Mission

Seeing such transactions may have also surprised Arron Culling and Mark, his co-worker, when they were in Papua New Guinea at a local market and saw two live sea turtles up for sale. After asking the vendor about them, they were shocked to find out they were destined to end up on a dinner plate.

When Aaron and Mark realized that the turtles were going to be bought for food, they decided to do something about it. The pair paid $50 to buy them, drove them to a safe area and then set them free in the ocean. They have done this a number of times, rescuing 10 turtles so far and giving them another chance at living their lives.

Humans have been hunting and killing animals for food ever since we existed. The very first humans would have survived by hunting and eating animals. That tradition has carried forward into modern-day and on much larger, and more efficient scales. However, this hunting has led to the extinction of many species and is risking many more, such as these sea turtles. So it's such a breath of fresh air to see someone still cares about this endangered species of animal, so much so that they helped save many lives. If only more people were like Arron and Mark!