*If you follow the links through this there may be some graphic material not for children to see*

TortoiseAid International Action Alert
http://tortoise-aid.org/walmart.html

TortoiseAid International Action Alert

CRUELTY AT WAL-MART
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In many North American Wal-Mart stores, “pet supply” sections have an area where photos and information about animals in need of adoption by loving families are posted.

The Wal-Mart website (http://walmart.com) boasts a large “pet section,” offering everything from pet strollers to dog clothing. In addition, American pet search and adoption services are available through Wal-Mart’s “Very Best Pet Network.” (http://www.verybestpetnetwork.com)

Unfortunately, Wal-Mart operates differently in China. While giving North American customers the impression that Wal-Mart cares about animals, they sell others for slaughter out of the sight of Western customers.

Live turtles and frogs are available for purchase at Chinese Wal-Mart stores. These animals are slaughtered while fully conscious, to satisfy consumers need for “fresh” food items.

"The last things the turtles see in the Wal-Mart megastore in northern Beijing are bright fluorescent lights, masked shop assistants and, if they crane their necks over the edge of their plastic container, a chalk board offering them for sale at the bargain price of 39,8 yuan (about $5) each.

Once that sum is paid, even their shells cannot protect them. They are whisked off to the in-store slaughter counter, where their necks are cut, their blood is drained and they are bagged and tagged ready for the checkout counter.

According to the shop assistant, a small minority of the 100 turtles sold every day could also expect a brief respite. “A few customers like to take them home alive so they can play with them for a few days before making them into soup,” she said." (1)

We are saddened and horrified that Wal-Mart would employ such barbaric and inhumane practices. Many species of turtles have become critically endangered in Asia due to over-collection and human consumption.

Please see the following links for more information regarding the Asian Turtle Crisis:

http://tortoise-aid.org/asianturtles.html
http://www.traffic.org/news/turtles.html
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/asia.html
http://nytts.org/asianturtlecrisis.html

Please also see a report to the California Department of Fish and Game regarding the sale of live turtles and amphibians in San Francisco, California.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/activities/foodmarket.html

Until Wal-Mart ceases this environmentally and ethically unacceptable practice, we are asking for a world-wide boycott of Wal-Mart, and all Wal-Mart divisions. These businesses include:

Sam’s Club: USA, Canada: http://www.samsclub.com
Amigo Supermarkets: Puerto Rico: http://www.amigo.com
ASDA: United Kingdom: http://www.adsa.co.uk
Seiyou:Japan: http://www.seiyu.co.jp/english/
Walmex: (Wal-Mart in Mexico)
George Apparel Stores: United Kingdom

For a complete list of Wal-Mart owned businesses, please go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rt_Stores,_Inc .

We kindly ask that all individuals, humane organizations and businesses objecting to Wal-Mart’s cruel practices, and who support this boycott to voice your concerns to:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 S.W. 8th Street
Bentonville, AR 72716-8611
USA

You may contact Wal-Mart via e-mail at its corporate web site:
http://walmartstores.com/GlobalWMSto...te.do?catg=221


An online petition is also available at: http://www.petitiononline.com/tortaid1/petition.html

Please take a moment to read and sign it. Thank you.

1. Walmart Leads the Race for China by Jonathan Watts. Mail & Guardian Online: http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx...omy__business/

_________________________________________
Rusty
Edit: I found the following quotes very well said:
“Survivors of countless millennia, turtles on the brink of our new millennium face imminent demise at the hands of humans. We are facing a turtle survival crisis unprecedented in its severity and risk. Without intervention, countless species will be lost over the next few decades.


— Anders G. J. Rhodin, Chelonia Research Foundation

“We are on the brink of losing a group of animals that has managed to survive the upheavals of the last 200 million years, including the great extinction episode that eliminated the dinosaurs.”


— Russell Mittermeier, Conservation International