# Tesco Selling Turtles for food.... Should we boycot them???



## bjherp (Jul 10, 2005)

Just thought we should point out a news report that was on BBC news a few minutes ago.

Teso the supermarket giant have just opened their first store in Beijing, China. Included on the shelves as well as UK products like Mint Sauce and Sage & Onion Stuffing, *TESCO are selling live Turtles for food.

*Bearing in mind the world decline in turtle numbers, do you think this is a good move by the Super Market Giant.

IS it worth letting Tesco know our disgust at this Unnecessary & potentially very harmful trade.

The story can be seen,
BBC NEWS | Business | Tesco opens own-brand China store

There is no mention of the turtles on here but was mentioned on BBC news 24, and will no doubt filter through later.

Let Tesco know your feelings 
Tesco.com - Help

WHAT are peoples comments on this?

Reptilekeeping.com


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

I'm disappointed in Tescos. 

I'll stick with Co-op and their non support of animal crimes or human abuse. Here and overseas.


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## skimpy (Nov 22, 2006)

This is not good. Maybe i am being silly, but why sell them live anyway, let alone at all.

I mean prawns, shrimp and lobster are all sold prekilled, 

OK I am being dumb


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## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

this came up back in october 2006 on LF

How Tesco Make A Killing... - Livefood UK Forum

where it was seen on a 'Care for the Wild International' winter newsletter by one of the members..

care for the wild also had an online petion on their site 

"Log on to Care For The Wild International and sign their petition"

Before launching this campaign, Care for the Wild International spent weeks liaising with Tesco, detailing the horrendous animal welfare problems turtles, tortoises, frogs and fish are forced to endure as a result of slaughter, capture, holding, transport and commercial farming. But Tesco believes that as long as people in China are willing to purchase these animals for the pot, the company will not impose western welfare standards. Instead Tesco wants to fund more research on slaughter methods. Expert on pain perception already agree that killing turtles humanely without drugs is not easy. We don’t need more research to tell us that. Moreover, many Chinese customers buy the animals alive to kill them at home, which doesn’t help. Nor does the fact that China still has no animal welfare laws.

Suspending ethical notions when it is convenient and tied to profit is unacceptable. We all know what would happen if Tesco was to sell or butcher live turtles, frogs and fish in its almost 2,000 UK stores, on which the company depends financially. But just because China is a long way away and because turtles aren’t as cute as kittens, they think no one will care. It is apparent that only a dip in its bank balance will convince Tesco to stop these morally offensive activities.

Background: Millions of turtles, tortoises and frogs are mutilated or boiled alive for food in China. Turtles are a luxury food, not a source of protein for the poor, but as a result of excessive demand, wild populations have declined dramatically. The holding facilities and slaughter of animals from industrial “farms” intended to augment disappearing populations is no less cruel and still relies on animals being stolen from their natural habitat. Apart from the barbaric notion of offering turtles and tortoises as food items, it is the conditions in which these poor animals are transported and kept in the supermarket itself that is beyond the pale.

Tesco claims that the turtles sold in its stores are farmed, as if this somehow makes the activity less horrendous. Despite receiving detailed information from Care for the Wild International describing the conservation and welfare horrors that are linked to this business, Tesco is unwilling to give up its involvement in a trade that causes immense pain and misery and would force it to part with a tiny fraction of its £33.6 billion in annual profits that live turtles sales represent.

This is not the first time Tesco has come under fire for selling wild animals. In 2004 the company sold whale meat in its Japanese outlets until pressure from conservation groups and consumers persuaded it to stop.

Tesco prides itself on listening to its customers. According to its Corporate Responsibility Policy, "Tesco is committed to conducting business in an ethical and socially responsible manner. … Tesco aspires to high standards of animal welfare and best industry practice in its supply base. We use up-to-date knowledge of research, ethics, scientific facts and legislation to ensure that this happens. This is what our customers expect."
Care for the Wild and the Tortoise Trust therefore appeal to all Tesco customers to tell the company that selling live turtles and tortoises is cruel and inhumane and – no matter where on the map.
*What you can do:*

Write to Tesco (Tesco Corporate Responsibility Department, Tesco House, PO Box 44, Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9SL) and tell them that:
You will not shop at their stores or use their services such as petrol, credit cards and insurance until they discontinue sales of live reptiles, fish and amphibians in their Chinese stores.
Include your shredded Tesco Club Card for good measure! Perhaps even send the accrued fund on your Tesco loyalty card to Care for the Wild to support this campaign or *make a donation.*
Spread the word amongst your family and friends and contact Care for the Wild to receive leaflets for distribution to caring consumers.
 *Sign our on-line petition*, Care For The Wild International
download a printed version from our website or phone or write to us for a copy.
 Contact Tesco: Tesco Corporate Responsibility Department, Tesco House, PO Box 44, Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9SL or email [email protected]

*Every little helps in this campaign. Each potential Tesco customer who supports this initiative will make a difference.*


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## SilverSteno (Feb 12, 2006)

Read about this a while ago, ASDA-Walmart are also doing the same. Personally I think their animal welfare standards should be upheld otherwise if they aren't prepared to make a stand and not allow animals to suffer in their stores then how on earth are people's animal welfare views in those countries going to change in the first place? It's cowardly of them to not stand for an animal welfare practice that is clearly written out in their code of practice or something just to make a profit. If they actually believed in their code and genuinely valued it, they would stick to it regardless of where in the world their store was located. Saying that though, I don't personally think that the meat Tesco's and ASDA et al sell cheaply in this country (as in the smart price goods) are from animals treated to a high standard of welfare/environmental practices either.


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

skimpy said:


> This is not good. Maybe i am being silly, but why sell them live anyway, let alone at all.
> 
> I mean prawns, shrimp and lobster are all sold prekilled,
> 
> OK I am being dumb


I spent most of last year living in Boston in the USA and the Wal-Marts there (that is the company that owns ASDA over here) all sell large live lobsters in the supermarkets. I think it is quite common in a few countries to sell lobsters live from supermarkets. I couldn't stand going in there and seeing them and seeing the guy just plucking one out to put in a tub to sell.


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## BELIAL (Nov 10, 2006)

I think most of chinas eating habits are disgusting (baby birds cooked alive on their eggs, guinea pigs, snake blood straight out of freshly killed cobras, dogs beaten with sticks in little cages then cooked cos the more scared they are the better they taste) and the turtle thing is just as bad. 

however, hindus can't understand how we treat cows and eat them, we boil lobsters and crabs alive, and treat chickens in some nasty nasty ways. It's all about culture. 

Do i think tesco should sell live turtles? Hell no, but everywhere animals are exploited but humans in some form or another and tesco are just doing what the chinese think of as normal. for them it's like going and getting some bacon of the shelf..(expensive bacon)

it's a different world...poor little turtles


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## bloodxonxyourxhands (Dec 12, 2006)

i dont know how i feel on this tbh. no - i dont condone the sale of live animals for food, but what we must remember is that its a very different culture, and if tesco dont sell live turtles, everywhere else will carry on selling live turtles.

agreed, it is in-humane, but the entire country of china will sell turtles - shall we go campaign against those too? yes i prefer reptiles over other species, but i think selling live fish and crustaceans is just as bad and thats done all over the world, without mass uproar

well thats my two-cents (and for the record - i'm a veggie so dont like eating animals of any kind)


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

Ok.. if iys part of= thier culture i agree...that we cannot think too badly of the foriegners... 

BUT...Tesco are a..er..english? company...its not part of the shareholders general culture and they DO know its well... i cant say wrong but...

They dont think its ok yet still are doing it is what im trying to say which is what is really wrong, and in this case its 100% obvious simply due to money.. which again says a lot [although not suprising ofcourse and fair game] this shoudl reflect whether they are allowed to do so.


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## Blazey (Apr 30, 2006)

i complained to them. Its an absolute disgrace. Turtles are going to eventually die out if action isnt taken to conserve them and tescos are practically adding to the eventual negative outcome!


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## corvid2e1 (Jan 21, 2007)

it is a complicated issue with no easy answer to wheather it should be done or not. 
in my opinion selling them live to someone who does not know how to kill them properly is a problem. 
if they are in fact taking vunerable species from the wild then that is also a problem. 
however the fact that people are eating turtles does not bother me. people here are going to feel more strongly about it because it is an animal they see as a pet, not a meal. I am sure a lot of people who keep chickens or pigs as pets have similar issues with eating those animals. At the end of the day, any animal is edible, it is just personal and cultural preferance as to which species are acceptable

the fact that they are live and wild is the most complicated one. personaly I would far rather go out into the fields, catch and kill a wild pheasant then go home and pluck and butcher it, and then cook it and eat it myself than going to a supermarket and buy some frozen chicken fillets. it is much fresher, healthier, more natural, and the bird has lived a decent life rarther than being shut in a shed with hundreds of others while it was fattened up. that being said, I know how to kill a bird quickly and humanely. if I didn't then I would not attempt to, and that is what worries me most about the turtles.


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## Blazey (Apr 30, 2006)

oysters are sold live so i have no problem with the selling of live animals for food, its the fact they are having problems with reproduction in the wild that i shouldnt be done.


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## chriscollier (Mar 24, 2006)

I work at tesco, and trust me, the managers really care what their staff and customers have to say. If someone wants to put some sort of petition together against the sale of turtle meat I'd be more then happy to hand it in to my store manager who would pass it on to head office. It might not do any good at all, but you never know


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## darkdan99 (Dec 28, 2006)

i am not against meat, and i understand that the animals we buy have been kept and killed in bad conditions. i am not going to be a hypercrite and say that the sale of live animals for meat is wrong, because they die anyway, whever in my house or in the abbotior.

i am however strongly against the killing of *ENDANGERED SPEICES* for food, whatever the culture this isnt right. i am agaist whaling, i am against the indian traditions of using snake bodily fluids as a verility drink, because these speices need our protection to prevent their extinction.

i am not saying that the individual life of a turtle is more important that that of a chiken cow or pig, in my opinion all lives are equally important(human and animal), but the well being of an entire speices is more important. 

we cannot let these speices die out. 

please please do somthing now, sign the petetion, write a letter, and boycot tesco. 

currently finding out about asda/walmart, but if it turns out they also sell endangered speices, i will be on at my manager. and the store manager. and the reagonal manager. whoever i can force into listening. in the mean time, i will go write to tesco.


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## Blazey (Apr 30, 2006)

*reply i got to my email to tesco*



Thank you for your email.

We are very concerned when our customers or other members of the public
highlight issues in our international stores or our supply chain with which they
are unhappy. We will always look closely at these issues. 

Tesco entered the Chinese market in September 2004, acquiring a 50 per cent
stake in the Hymall business, which was an existing chain of hypermarkets based
in Shanghai. When entering a new market, our preference is to work with existing
retailers who understand the needs and tastes of local customers. 

The sale of live animals is commonplace throughout China and Asia. As you may
be aware, turtles and frogs are a traditional and popular part of the diet in
China, consumed widely alongside other meats. They are regularly used in dishes
such as soups and stews and are therefore sold by most food retailers in the
country. 

We are aware that this may be one of a number of habits and tastes that do not
translate easily to Western culture, and that some people in this country may
find them difficult to accept. We believe, however, that it would be wrong to
automatically impose our values on other countries, regardless of local feeling,
attitudes and tradition. 

We do of course recognise that the importance of upholding cultural differences
needs to be balanced against other priorities such as food safety, animal
welfare or environmental sustainability. We go beyond the regulatory
requirements to achieve high standards on each of these issues, so:

* The animals undergo an official inspection before they are sold, and we work
hard to maintain the highest hygiene standards in our stores. As with other
fresh products, such as poultry and meat, the animals are kept separate to avoid
cross-contamination with other products. It is legal to keep these animals live
for sale, and customers ask to see them being prepared, which staff are trained
to do.

** The turtles and frogs that Hymall sells are reared on farms for food*
*production. They are not caught in the wild. They are therefore sourced in a*
*sustainable way and do not cause damage to endangered populations.*

* Our Standard Operating Procedures require that the animals are slaughtered in
ways that minimise the risk of suffering. In light of your feedback, and
comments from customers, animal welfare charities and others, we are looking at
whether we can make improvements to our policies and procedures in this area so
that we can even better reflect our commitment to maintaining animal welfare
throughout our business.

We are complying with all the standards set in China. However, we recognise that
these differ from those that we are used to in the UK. By taking the approach I
have outlined, we are seeking to balance demand from our Chinese customers for
the sale of live turtles and frogs with our responsibilities and commitment as a
UK-based international retailer to high standards of ethical behaviour. 

I hope this helps to answer your concerns and I would like to thank you for
taking the time to write to us.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us at
[email protected] quoting TES2992567X.

Kind Regards


Sue Shearer
Tesco Customer Service


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## Geomyda (Aug 11, 2008)

*Maybe, the Turtles are biting back at the marketing policies of international food re*

"Tesco has been struggling in China and has been losing money. Similar to Carrefour, they had issues in their home market which they had to resolve," one Hong Kong-based banker told the Reuters news agency.

"This may look win-win, but in reality, Tesco is saying 'I can't figure out China'," he said.


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## Tops (Apr 26, 2007)




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## SilverSky (Oct 2, 2010)

Its ok, tescos is failing internationally, they're pulling their money out of it and using it on other ventures in this country instead, so jokes kinda on them... a little bit.


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## MCEE (Aug 8, 2011)

chriscollier said:


> I work at tesco, and trust me, the managers really care what their staff and customers have to say. If someone wants to put some sort of petition together against the sale of turtle meat I'd be more then happy to hand it in to my store manager who would pass it on to head office. It might not do any good at all, but you never know


Since when has Tesco (the company) listened to, and acted upon, the opinion of customers, the public in general, councils or even the Government.

All supermarkets have their flaws but Tesco is probably the least trusted and underhand UK supermarket in the UK. Yet, for some reason, people still shop there in their millions. No wonder they do not care about the opinions of of anyone else, they believe that they are untouchable.


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## MCEE (Aug 8, 2011)

I have visited Beijing and Shanghai. Many supermarkets in these cities sell live animals, including turtles. I can only go by what I have witnessed but these supermarkets generally keep their live food in clean, hygenic and humane conditions, sometimes putting some public aquariums to shame.


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