Three men named Ruiz Ríos, Junez Juarez, and Ruiz González were arrested by Border Police officers on Guanacaste, since they were carrying seven fighting cocks and 98 spurs made from the scales of the shell of The hawksbill turtle.
The information was released by the Guanacaste Conservation Area, which indicated that biologist Maike Heidemeyer, coordinator of the Integral Network of Sea Turtles (Ritma) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) performed tests on the spurs to confirm that they came of the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), a species declared endangered.
In addition, the roosters were given to the National Animal Health Service (Senasa) and the spurs were handed over to the Control Brigade of the Forest Resources and Wildlife Directorate.
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Hawksbill turtle is the rarest in the country and is in critical danger of extinction, since less than 50 females nest annually on the two slopes of Costa Rica.