Tesco: Stop the killing of turtles!

Tesco farms turtles to be sold in their Supermarkets in China.
The turtles are sold alive, once purchased the customer can have the live turtle butchered in the Tesco Supermarket or they can take them away and butcher them alive in any way they wish at home.

Tesco butcher turtles while they are still alive, with no pre stunning. The procedure used to butcher them is to cut the head off and then to crush it.
Until the head is correctly crushed, destroying the brain, the turtle can remain conscious throughout the procedure. If the head is not correctly crushed, the turtle's severed head can continue to remain conscious for up to an hour before it dies.
These turtles are known to move their neck and head with lightning speed and can easily withdraw into their shell. This can make the butchering task very unpredictable and far from easy, only prolonging the pain and suffering of the turtle while it is being butchered alive.

The level of suffering caused to turtles, frogs and so many other animals in Chinese markets is well documented. These animals are shipped and handled with no regard to their welfare and without any attempt to minimise their suffering. They are maintained in-store under totally unacceptable conditions, and are killed in a grossly inhumane and barbaric fashion. These animals are essentially dissected alive. They have highly developed sensory capabilities, and without question suffer the most extreme pain and distress over an extended period.

Two-fifths of the world’s tortoises and freshwater turtles and three quarters of Asian species are threatened with extinction as a result of human consumption. Despite legislation restricting trade in many turtle species, enforcement is weak, and many protected species still find their way onto Chinese plates. Any action that endorses or participates in this devastating trade pushes wild turtles one step closer to extinction. No western supermarket should have a hand in the extermination of these imperilled animals.


"Cruelty and evil can never be excused on the grounds of 'culture'. The infliction of horrendous suffering on sentient beings of any kind is universally wrong, and all the more so when the motive is simply to make a quick profit. Companies operating multinationally have a moral duty to uphold and disseminate the best standards and highest ideals, not to sink to the level of the very lowest and most debased practices that exist wherever they do business. Make no mistake - in this case Tesco have descended into the gutter. The level of suffering they are daily inflicting upon live animals in their Chinese stores would result in criminal charges being laid against them were they to repeat these acts of barbarity in the UK.


For Tesco to claim that "it would be wrong" for them to cease the sale of live turtles and frogs because these practices are part of Chinese culture is absurd. If gross cruelty is a part of a culture, then that culture needs to change. Would Tesco willingly sell dogs to be tortured to death in Korea? Would they sell 'bushmeat' from primates in Africa? Would they sell whale meat in Japan? The answer would appear to be "Yes, they would" - and indeed, they already have offered whale meat in their Japanese stores. They were forced to retreat when a major consumer backlash in Europe threatened."

Andy C. Highfield - Tortoise Trust



More detailed info in the following sites:

- Turtlesco
- Turtlesco - clip
- Linnics
- Care for the Wild Int.
- Tortoise Trust
- Tortoise Trust - Tesco's response
- Tortoise Trust - Campaign letter
- "The Independent" on Tesco


PETITIONS ---> Please Sign!!

- Turtlesco Petition
- No more turtles killing!
- Viva's Campaign