US President Donald Trump terminated foreign aid for various organisations after taking over the White House in January. Several US foreign aid contracts and grants were frozen and this has affected one particular creature in particular - a rare turtle. The creature is native to the Gulf of Mexico. However, it was rescued from a beach in Wales some time back.

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It was supposed to return to its habitat off the coast of the United States but has been stranded in the United Kingdom because of a lack of funding owing to Trump's foreign aid cuts.

The turtle named Rhossi is a critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle. Rescuers found it on the coast of Anglesey, northern Wales, in 2023. They took the turtle to the Anglesey Sea Zoo, where it was treated and nursed back to health.

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Zoo officials and other experts who are around Rhossi say that it is now healthy enough to be sent back home. However, the problem now is funding.

Freeze on foreign aid affecting marine turtle conservation efforts 

The Trump administration has put a halt on all foreign development assistance for three months. Following the order, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) froze funding for the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund. The turtle is bearing the brunt of it as the lack of foreign aid has put a stop to the work done by organisations like Anglesey Sea Zoo.

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Frankie Hobro, the owner and director of Anglesey Sea Zoo, told the BBC, "Animal species don't understand politics, they don't understand boundaries and borders."

Hobro laments the fact that the decision has affected "a really successful repatriation regime" that had been put in place. 

"We were going to fine-tune the process for future turtles. It's very, very frustrating that's been put on hold now really because of politics and this kind of sweeping decision and the far-reaching affect it is having way beyond the states," he added.

Rhossi not the only turtle in UK from Gulf of Mexico

The Marine Turtle Conservation Fund was working with the zoo to send Rhossi back to its native waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Rhossi is the second Kemp's ridley sea turtle that would be sent back to the region by the Anglesey Sea Zoo. In 2023, a turtle named Tally was released in the waters.

Meanwhile, Hobro is now exploring the possibility of going through Mexico to return the turtle, but says it would be a "shame because we've got these great relationships with these wonderful whole conservation programmes for the species in Texas and the people we've been working with."