Animal rights groups are suing British Petroleum, not for their hand in causing the massive spill off the Gulf of Mexico, but how they are cleaning it up.
The Sonoma County-based Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) is one of the organizations filing suit against BP for killing endangered sea turtles during “controlled burns.”
The animals become trapped in "burn boxes" when shrimp boats encircle floating oil with fire resistant booms. Turtles, including the Leatherback, Loggerhead and Kemp’s Ridley – which may be the rarest sea turtle on Earth – die when the oil is set ablaze.
ALDF claims BP is violating the Endangered Species Act, as well as a slew of other federal laws. The suit went to federal court today and is scheduled for a hearing in New Orleans on Friday morning.
