DENPASAR ~ A request by Governor I Made Mangku Pastika for permission to cull 1,000 green turtles a year for Hindu religious ceremonies has been knocked back by the central government.

Pastika, who wrote to the national forestry minister in July requesting the dispensation, had said that the 1,000 quota was only to meet the requirements for religious ceremonies, not for the food trade.

“It is purely to meet the ceremonial needs of traditional villages,” he said, as wildlife watchdog the WWF warned it would only reopen the illegal turtle trade in Bali.

But on Friday, the Forestry Ministry said that because the green turtle is protected under Indonesian law, the governor’s quota request could not be met.

“The law clearly mandates it was not possible, that the green turtles are included in the animals listed for protection,” ministry spokesman Masyud said.

The Turtle Conservation Education Centre says only 80 turtles are needed a year for religious ceremonies.