While you might think that taking a ride on the back of a sea turtle looked fun in Finding Nemo it is a stunt that could see Jamie O’Brien, a pro surfer get into a lot of trouble thanks to a photograph that was taken off him.

O’Brien, aged 28, posted a photo onto a local TV stations Facebook Page which was taken underwater and shows him riding on the back of one of these creatures.

Mr O’Brien did not mean to cause any harm to the sea turtle by riding on its back and he stated that the photo was only taken and posted to highlight to the world the spread of a herpes like virus – fibropapillomatosis – which affects seas turtles and is becoming a real problem for these creatures in the wild.

The disease creates tumours, which are benign and these cause sea turtles to have difficulty breathing and moving, and can cause death in some cases. These tumours are becoming more widespread and if it continues, as it did with green turtles, it could be a bigger threat to sea turtles than man.

The problem with the photograph that was taken was that Mr O’Brien had broken federal and state laws by disturbing the creature. The Federal Endangered Species Act that is in place to protect against humans from coming into contact with various sea creatures have a fine of up to $13,200 for anyone who has harassed a sea turtle. As a result of his actions Mr O’Brien is now being investigated by law enforcement agents in Honolulu.

Right now there is no actual limit on the distance that humans must keep away from sea turtles, there is however legislation on how far away humans must stay from whales for example.

However it is considered that being too close to sea turtles can constitute breaking a state or federal law, especially if the animal in question is seen to be disturbed or have its natural behaviour disturbed in any way.

In Hawaii the sea turtle is also considered as a sacred creature and the laws that are in place tend to be strictly upheld. This means that Mr O’Brien could see the full weight of the law come down on him in order to safeguard against this happening in the future.

The underwater cameraman, Brent Bielmann who shot the photo was unavailable for comment, as were Body Glove and Etnies who sponsor Mr O’Brien.

While Mr O’Brien’s actions were certainly ill judged and misguided they were men in the right way and hopefully this should bring attention to the plight of sea turtles in the wake of this terrible disease.

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One of the most disheartening ones has just been released, highlighting the fact that last year the RSPCA received 29,000 separate reports of animal cruelty in Wales alone. When you take England into account as well, this figure then rises to 160,000, up over 10% on 2009′s figures.

However, in some slightly better news it appears that the work of the RSPCA is helping. In Wales around 15,000 people received welfare improvement advice, with 92% of these people choosing to follow up and act on the advice, thereby avoiding prosecution and improving the welfare of their animals and pets.

This was highlighted by the RSPCA’s David Bowles, who said:

“It is such an achievement that more than 90% of animal owners chose to follow the welfare advice offered by our officers.”

It is good news that these types of initiatives do make a difference and hopefully with the economy likely to pick up over the next year the RSPCA’s donations will also increase.

But first, you’re probably thinking what exactly does AnimalAdoptions.org.uk do?

Well, we cover 10 of the most endangered animals around the globe, from leopards to tigers and turtles, providing detailed statistics and articles about the plight of each species, to help you answer the question:

“Which animal will you adopt?”

We hope to raise awareness of the difficulties facing some of the world’s most endangered animals, and also cover six of the leading animal charities. Over time we’ll be bringing out new articles, featuring new animals and charities and hopefully sharing many warming success stories.