# Turtle slaughter



## samstar (May 2, 2010)

I just typed in 'turtle slaughter' or 'turtle killing' in youtube and what popped up was very disturbing. I swear it did break my heart of how these barbarians could cut open a turtle while it's alive. Why is not PETA or conservation groups doing anything about this? I thought I'd post the links here but maybe it would be to disturbing so decided not to. I cant seem to get the videos I just watched out of my head. If there are some groups stopping these barbaric acts, please do tell me because it would make me feel better.


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## ReptileBuddies (May 2, 2010)

Ugh, I cringe just thinking about it  definately won't be watching it...


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## samstar (May 2, 2010)

Honestly I feel the same treatment should be given to those who do this to the poor torts, no mercy at all. This is how I feel and i feel the same way about other animals to which is why I am vegeterian. It is sick and it disgust me.


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## Nay (May 2, 2010)

Samstar,
I just have to ask what would make you think to type 'turtle slaughter' in you tube?
Just asking, no offense.
Na


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## RichardS (May 2, 2010)

Nay said:


> I just have to ask what would make you think to type 'turtle slaughter' in you tube?



Exactly my thoughts.


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## samstar (May 2, 2010)

Nay said:


> Samstar,
> I just have to ask what would make you think to type 'turtle slaughter' in you tube?
> Just asking, no offense.
> Na



I was in the hotel room couple of days ago during my business trip and was watching animal planet. Than the advertisements came on which one was off 'If the buying stops, the killing can to'. In this advertisement, they were showing people(barbarians) killing turtles to make ornaments, lamps and for the meat trade. They showed this guy using a small saw to cut open the turtle by going around the plastron while it was still alive. This has been on my mind since that day and I wanted to see what else are these barbarians doing and decided to go into youtube. This has really affected me and I feel really upset everytime I think about it. I snap at anyone around me if the thought is running through my head.

Two places where this is or was taking place, Bali and Australia(tribes).


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## Redfoot NERD (May 2, 2010)

Now you know how we feel when we see how some people advocate how to care for ALL species.. and not considering the vast differences in care required among the species worldwide! How many times do we see how someone will send a lot of time and $$$ to create an enclosure(?) that is appealing to their eye and yet disregard the needs of those animals that they actually think they are providing proper care for!? 

Why are there so many threads with "sick and disabled" tortoises on just this forum alone? I don't know how many times I've spent time to help someone.. only to be completly ignored. Are they just looking for someone to agree with their own preconceived idea of how to??? And I'm not alone on this one........... NO debate here! [ why is this in the Debatable Topics anyway? ]

Terry K


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## samstar (May 2, 2010)

Redfoot NERD said:


> Now you know how we feel when we see how some people advocate how to care for ALL species.. and not considering the vast differences in care required among the species worldwide! How many times do we see how someone will send a lot of time and $$$ to create an enclosure(?) that is appealing to their eye and yet disregard the needs of those animals that they actually think they are providing proper care for!?
> 
> Why are there so many threads with "sick and disabled" tortoises on just this forum alone? I don't know how many times I've spent time to help someone.. only to be completly ignored. Are they just looking for someone to agree with their own preconceived idea of how to??? And I'm not alone on this one........... NO debate here! [ why is this in the Debatable Topics anyway? ]
> 
> Terry K



I have to agree with you 100%. I didn't know to put this under the General section or here.


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## Nay (May 2, 2010)

Samstar,
I have to say I was happy to read your answer. Totally makes sense about why you might look something up. I have only just recently gotten DSL, or what ever can allow me to watch youtube, and I have to say that wasn't one of the first things I would have gone to look up. I typed in tortoise one time and had to limit it to something so I put in tortoise having fun.
Makes me have more faith in folks....
Yes Terry, I have seen what you are saying here, sometime they will even argue with you about why they can't do what you suggest. Money is one thing, but some of those responses have been, just stupid,(like the sides being to short, etc..) Oh well you should feel good about taking the time to share your expertise. Many take it to heart and learn.
Thank you,
Na


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## dmmj (May 2, 2010)

I am not condoning it, but I think why turtles and tortoises are so badly mistreated, sometimes with people's approval , is for the most part they do not make noise when hurt, so some people think it is ok to treat them as such. You step on a dog or cat, they yelp or meow, as do other animals but if you hurt a tortoise or turtle they usually remain quiet.


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## Yvonne G (May 2, 2010)

Anybody ever catch a cat fish and skin and gut it at the lake? It was probably still alive.

We seem to feel that turtles and fish, frogs, etc. are a lower life form and as such not deserving of humane treatment.


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## dmmj (May 2, 2010)

When I fish and then gut the fish I have always cut the head off myself, it seems quicker that way and less painful.


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## Madkins007 (May 2, 2010)

Redfoot NERD said:


> Now you know how we feel when we see how some people advocate how to care for ALL species.. and not considering the vast differences in care required among the species worldwide! How many times do we see how someone will send a lot of time and $$$ to create an enclosure(?) that is appealing to their eye and yet disregard the needs of those animals that they actually think they are providing proper care for!?
> 
> Why are there so many threads with "sick and disabled" tortoises on just this forum alone? I don't know how many times I've spent time to help someone.. only to be completly ignored. Are they just looking for someone to agree with their own preconceived idea of how to??? And I'm not alone on this one........... NO debate here! [ why is this in the Debatable Topics anyway? ]
> 
> Terry K



I'm not sure I see the connection between poor cares and butchering live animals for body parts to make trinkets and such out of them. 

The debate would seem to be what we can do to help stop this sort of thing, why it is allowed to happen. 

I agree that bad cares for torts is bad, but this sort of thing is horrible and is contributing towards the extinction of some amazing species.

Of course, what we did to most of the giant tortoise species in the Seychelles area is not a lot better.


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## Redfoot NERD (May 2, 2010)

Madkins007 said:


> Redfoot NERD said:
> 
> 
> > Now you know how we feel when we see how some people advocate how to care for ALL species.. and not considering the vast differences in care required among the species worldwide! How many times do we see how someone will send a lot of time and $$$ to create an enclosure(?) that is appealing to their eye and yet disregard the needs of those animals that they actually think they are providing proper care for!?
> ...



Mark abuse is abuse... ( slow death or otherwise )...

Terry K


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## RichardS (May 2, 2010)

Redfoot NERD said:


> Now you know how we feel when we see how some people advocate how to care for ALL species.. and not considering the vast differences in care required among the species worldwide!



You feel the same way about butchering live animals... as when you read a poorly written care sheet? You must be joking, because that is ridiculous.


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## Redfoot NERD (May 2, 2010)

RichardS said:


> Redfoot NERD said:
> 
> 
> > Now you know how we feel when we see how some people advocate how to care for ALL species.. and not considering the vast differences in care required among the species worldwide!
> ...



It's all relative Richard.. end result is the same. You aren't saying you don't see that.. please say you are joking.

Terry K


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## elvis (May 2, 2010)

I will report such videos on YouTube to have them removed. Thank you for bringing them to my attention.


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## RichardS (May 2, 2010)

Redfoot NERD said:


> It's all relative Richard.. end result is the same. You aren't saying you don't see that.. please say you are joking.



The end result is the same? Tu'i Malila is dead too... Everything eventually dies, but nothing has to be butchered alive. Its a culture I will never understand. 

I think the number of Chelonians that die from uneducated hobbyists is infinitesimally smaller than those slaughtered in Asian markets on a daily basis.

I am not condoning neglect, but don't cheapen the slaughter of live animals by comparing their deaths to pets that are fed the wrong diet. It's the sinister intent that disgusts me, not the end result.


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## samstar (May 2, 2010)

Does anyone know if PETA is doing anything on this?


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## reptylefreek (May 4, 2010)

Yvonne had a good point though... In their culture im sure its not a big deal to eat a wild animal that happens to be a tortoise. PETA are the same people that say you shouldn't eat beef. I understand these images are shocking to us, but its probably alot different when you grew up eating tortoise. I dont know a whole lot about this subject, but if your mad purely because these people are slaughtering an animal to eat(and responsibly using the rest of the animal), i think you should broaden your horizen and think about their culture. We just think its wrong because we grew up thinking tortoises are pets.

Let me reiterate though... i do think there are more humane ways to kill so you can eat.


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## latshki (May 4, 2010)

The thing that makes me most angry is how almost all of these animals are wild caught turtles and tortoises are becoming endangered like mad these days especially in these countries 
I think a better alternative is to farm the animals and treat them to respect and to me thats the worst the disregard for respect of these animals, I was brought up to respect the animals we eat and to treat them fairly that means not playing catch or throwing them into crates for fun 
when I go fishing i do catch and release if I can and if the animals is too badly wounded which is not often i will quickly break its neck and take it home or leave it in the road, some may not agree with leaving them in the road or path but they WILL get eaten and used and as long as the animal returns to nature in some way that is respect to that animal in my mind

btw PETA is a joke there are very few things that they have contributed to animal welfare most of their money goes to advertising and they prefer to euthinise rather than adopt out


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## dmmj (May 4, 2010)

I have 2 rules in eating animals, you don't eat endangered animals and you don't eat somene's pet. I of course don't like to think about all those turtles being eaten, but thank god PETA has no power over there, cause that would just give them more power over here. I also think they should do it more humanely, but I think they have some cultural thing about eating an animal alive or right after you kill it, but I am not sure.


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## Nay (May 4, 2010)

latshki,
Just my 2 cents, I so agree about peta being a useless bunch of idiots!. Causing more bad than good.
Not your words, mine.
Na


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## Tom (May 4, 2010)

reptylefreek said:


> Yvonne had a good point though... In their culture im sure its not a big deal to eat a wild animal that happens to be a tortoise. PETA are the same people that say you shouldn't eat beef. I understand these images are shocking to us, but its probably alot different when you grew up eating tortoise. I dont know a whole lot about this subject, but if your mad purely because these people are slaughtering an animal to eat(and responsibly using the rest of the animal), i think you should broaden your horizen and think about their culture. We just think its wrong because we grew up thinking tortoises are pets.
> 
> Let me reiterate though... i do think there are more humane ways to kill so you can eat.





I was going to type up a big response to this, but nothing I say will make more sense than what Jessica said here. I agree whole-heartedly.

The only thing I would add is my inability to understand how someone who keeps exotic chelonians in a captive environment could possibly think a radical animal rights organization is good thing. That's like a vegan supporting a large scale beef slaughterhouse.

Also remember that the way some of you feel about these native tribes eating a turtle is the same way a billion Hindus feel about us eating cows... and steers, etc...

All animals should be treated humanely, but meat is still meat.


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## samstar (May 4, 2010)

reptylefreek said:


> Yvonne had a good point though... In their culture im sure its not a big deal to eat a wild animal that happens to be a tortoise. PETA are the same people that say you shouldn't eat beef. I understand these images are shocking to us, but its probably alot different when you grew up eating tortoise. I dont know a whole lot about this subject, but if your mad purely because these people are slaughtering an animal to eat(and responsibly using the rest of the animal), i think you should broaden your horizen and think about their culture. We just think its wrong because we grew up thinking tortoises are pets.
> 
> Let me reiterate though... i do think there are more humane ways to kill so you can eat.





The issue here is not about broadening my horizen but more in the way they slaughter these helpless animals. Yes I have seen miuch worse and it is difficult to accept whats going on but there are just more humane ways of going about these things although to me personally it's wrong. Just my opinion.


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## ROFLCHOPTER94 (May 4, 2010)

I am extremely against it because a lot of the turtles and tortoises slautered are rare or endangered but we can't really say much because of the pet trade horrors with russians and pancakes.


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## Tortuga_terrestre (May 4, 2010)

Disturbing YES! but killing turtles/tortoise for means of survival...can you really condem that? Our armored friends have been food; way before they were in our enclosures. Have you ever seen the slaughter of Cows,Pigs,Chickens? thats barbaric. I posted a comment about this very subject, but for some reason its being ignored. They are selling turtle meat in ChinaTown (Los Angeles CA).


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## reptylefreek (May 5, 2010)

Tom said:


> reptylefreek said:
> 
> 
> > Yvonne had a good point though... In their culture im sure its not a big deal to eat a wild animal that happens to be a tortoise. PETA are the same people that say you shouldn't eat beef. I understand these images are shocking to us, but its probably alot different when you grew up eating tortoise. I dont know a whole lot about this subject, but if your mad purely because these people are slaughtering an animal to eat(and responsibly using the rest of the animal), i think you should broaden your horizen and think about their culture. We just think its wrong because we grew up thinking tortoises are pets.
> ...





Just to clarify if case you (Tom)think I'm supporting PETA, I HATE the way these groups go about their ways. The only PETA im for is People for the Eating of Tasty Animals.  And I do agree that each country should protect endangered animals. Thats one major thing we could give back to this world as people, save species that we had a hand in destroying.


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## -EJ (May 9, 2010)

You gotta be careful because those groups think that the keeping of these animals as pets is cruel.

Gutting a fish is no different and is done on a daily basis in massive numbers. Do not tell me it's different. Those turtles being butchured in the market are being done so for food. I'll always ask... how do you 'humanely' kill an organism.



samstar said:


> I just typed in 'turtle slaughter' or 'turtle killing' in youtube and what popped up was very disturbing. I swear it did break my heart of how these barbarians could cut open a turtle while it's alive. Why is not PETA or conservation groups doing anything about this? I thought I'd post the links here but maybe it would be to disturbing so decided not to. I cant seem to get the videos I just watched out of my head. If there are some groups stopping these barbaric acts, please do tell me because it would make me feel better.


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## samstar (May 9, 2010)

From what I have read, PETA has shut down quote a few slaughter houses in China, how true is this?


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