Ukrainian blogger rides a sea turtle in Oman, sparking international scandal

The Italian conservation project Biologicamente has condemned the behavior of Ukrainian tourists who climbed onto the shell of a sea turtle in Oman and filmed it on video.

The footage was published by Ukrainian blogger Vadim Oleynik.

In the video, which spread across social media, a man and a woman are seen sitting and lying on the shell of a sea turtle. According to Biologicamente, at the time of filming the Ukrainian tourists were accompanied by volunteers from an organization that monitors sea turtle egg-laying in Oman. The project suggested that the presence of the volunteers may have led the tourists to believe they were not breaking any rules.

Biologicamente questioned the professionalism of the organization that accompanied the tourists: in the opinion of the Italian conservationists, a serious organization would not have allowed people to sit on the shell of a wild turtle for photographs. The project emphasized that sea turtles must not even be touched, let alone sat upon.

Biologicamente announced that it had filed a complaint and contacted the relevant authorities to investigate the incident.

Following a wave of criticism, Oleynik published a video apology. He addressed the Environment Authority of Oman and the organization involved in protecting green sea turtles.

“I did not pay attention to the rules for handling turtles, so I made a mistake,” the blogger said.

The situation is being actively discussed on social media, including by Ukrainian users. They criticized attempts to justify what happened and drew attention to the unacceptability of such treatment of wild animals. At the same time, claims of a possible violation of the law or animal cruelty remain the position of individual commentators and have not been established by a ruling from competent authorities.