Despite a police crackdown and a campaign by animal rights activists three years ago, the consumption of endangered turtles on Bali is once again rising as illegal trade flourishes, writes Chris Brummitt

The turtle butcher had little hesitation about revealing his occupation.

``Come back tomorrow at dawn and you can have as much meat as you want,'' said Wayan Budha, handing over his business card: Bali Catering Service. To the left of the name, a large stenciled image of an endangered sea turtle makes clear to potential customers the nature of his illegal business.

Budha's fly-ridden shop is proof of a bloody trade on this tropical Indonesian resort island, which is better-known for its sparkling coastline, friendly people and views of intricately sculpted Hindu temples.

Three years ago, consumption of the turtle was decreasing due to a police crackdown and a campaign by local animal rights activists. But the practice is back on the rise again. Earlier this year, police raided three ships carrying more than 250 turtles destined for Bali from other parts of Indonesia -- a sign, conservationists say, of the increasing demand for the meat.

Turtle traders are fighting back. In June, around 50 people armed with spears and machetes punched and kicked a group of conservationists as they tried to research the trade on Bali. Budha's shop was one of two in the island's provincial capital of Denpasar where a reporter inquiring about turtle meat was offered the illegal product.

Neither had signs, and both were set back from the road. Butchery goes on late at night to avoid the police, Budha said. While all six species of turtle found in Indonesian waters are on the United Nations' endangered species list, the green turtle, which lives for 100 years and can measure almost a meter in length, is the only one that is eaten on Bali. Decades of hunting the animal and rapid development of the island's coastline mean it is now rarely found in Balinese waters. Bali-based businessmen send boats elsewhere in the Indonesian archipelago to catch the turtles.

Most of the animals arrive on Bali through the harbor at Tanjung Benoa, a poor district on the southern tip of the island where turtle meat is still available in street-side eating houses. Whereas three years ago the boats used to unload their cargo in daylight, they now do so at night, says ex-turtle fisherman Wayan Putra. Putra stopped turtle fishing for fear of being caught, but he still eats the meat. He says it is good for stamina and defends the right of his fellow Balinese to dine on turtle.

``It's been in our culture for years,'' he says. ``People should stop telling us what to do.'' The turtles are slaughtered by turning them onto their backs and prying flesh from their shells while the animal is still alive -- a process that enables the butcher to peel meat off easily. Turtle flesh is skewered and barbecued at parties and religious gatherings on the island. Bracelets and trinkets made from the turtle's carapace, or upper shell, are available in towns throughout Indonesia.

This trade is illegal, too. The animal is also used in religious ceremonies on the island, where most people are Hindus -- unlike the rest of Muslim-majority Indonesia. After lobbying by priests, local officials allowed a limited number of turtles to be killed each year for use as offerings in religious ceremonies. Those who want to purchase turtle must have written permission from village chiefs and Bali's Conservation Department, but animal rights activists and some Hindu priests says the system is widely abused.

``The trade these days has nothing to do with Hindu ritual or tradition,'' said Hindu elder Ida Pedanda Ngurah Kaleran. ``It's just not true if they say it is for religion. The meat is for consumption.'' Kaleran said that a maximum of 300 turtles a year and normally much less would be enough for sacrifices in some ceremonies to symbolize prosperity.

He said the animal was not essential for the success of the ritual and could easily be substituted with offerings of flour, rice and cookies. The trade in turtles is not the only danger facing the animals. It is also under threat in Indonesian waters and elsewhere in the world from industrial fishing and the exploitation of eggs and destruction of beaches -- where the turtles nest -- by waterfront development.

Despite pockets of affluence, most of Bali is poor like the rest of Indonesia. Last year's bloody nightclub bombings on the island have badly hit its tourist trade, pushing thousands of people out of work. A large green turtle sells for more than US$50, making the business attractive to impoverished villagers.

``It's like the drug trade,'' said Wayan Wiradnyana, who works with the local conservation group ProFauna Indonesia. ``The traders are like a little mafia.''

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