An animal welfare organisation has accused Chlorakas Community Council employees of deliberately hurling and kicking a dead sea turtle, demanding immediate dismissals and criminal prosecution as four municipal workers face public nuisance charges.
Volunteers for Animals sent letters to police, the Fisheries Department and Veterinary Services alleging serious legal violations and an attempted cover-up. The group placed administrative responsibility on the Chlorakas Community Leader.
Four municipal employees were arrested over the alleged abuse and will be charged with public nuisance after doctors determined the turtle had died at least two days before the incident was filmed.
The organisation conducted a technical analysis of the video evidence, titling its letter “Technical and Logical Refutation of Claims of ‘accident due to weight’ and Demand for Immediate Dismissal and Criminal Prosecution of Those Involved”.
Video footage shows a perpetrator lifting the approximately 80-kilogramme turtle and hurling it to the ground, according to the group. The animal’s trajectory and momentum prove active force was applied rather than an accidental drop, the organisation argued.
The perpetrator kicked the turtle repeatedly, the letter stated. The ease with which the 80-kilogramme body rotates on the ground after each kick demonstrates the strikes were extremely violent and deliberate.
Footage also captures the perpetrator consciously rotating his body and hurling the animal towards two colleagues. This proved there was no “loss of balance” but rather a coordinated throw that turned handling of a protected species into mockery and a “game”, the group claimed.
The video shows the perpetrator running whilst carrying the 80-kilogramme load, definitively refuting claims that the animal was too heavy to lift or that any drop resulted from exhaustion.
Volunteers for Animals called on the Chlorakas Community Leader to ensure absolute transparency, warning against attempts to downgrade the incident because council members or employees are involved.
The group described the case as a tragic institutional betrayal. Individuals mandated to serve the law and protect the public interest have become perpetrators themselves, irreparably damaging citizens’ trust in the state and local authorities, it stated.
The organisation demanded immediate dismissal of the employees involved, arguing every second they remain in their positions constitutes approval of their actions.
It called for full criminal prosecution for violating Cypriot laws and European Directive 92/43/EEC, without concessions due to their position.
Volunteers for Animals stated it will closely monitor the process, ensuring no false justification stands as an obstacle to delivering justice for what it called an abhorrent act.
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