A green sea turtle that was seen tied to and being dragged behind a car in Limon, Costa Rica in a shocking online video on Tuesday was subsequently tortured and killed, according to the environmental activist and lawyer who uploaded the video.

Alvaro Sagot told the Spanish EFE news agency that in the full version of the video, the sea turtle is tortured and killed in a “very cruel” manner after having been dragged behind a car for some 100 meters.

“They dismember the poor turtle while still alive […] while dying of laughter,” Sagot said.

Sagot says that he received the video from another environmentalist who had obtained it from an anonymous source, and that he uploaded the video to social media on Tuesday to call attention to “outrageous” animal abuse. He said that environmental groups lodged a formal complaint with authorities after obtaining the video.

Sagot decided to edit out the ending of the video, in which the sea turtle is cruelly dismembered alive, before uploading it to social media because the scene was too graphic.

Sea turtles are a protected species in Costa Rica, and those who hunt, kill, or trade in sea turtles face between one and three years in prison, though the sale and human consumption of sea turtle meat and eggs is still relatively common on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.

“It is a lack of respect for other life forms. Some people eat [sea turtle] meat, but the way they mistreat the turtle is outrageous, shocking and at odds with what should be a civilized country,” Sagot said.

 

Suspects identified

Two of the suspects in the video have been identified, and the case is now under investigation, according to the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ).

The OIJ also said late Tuesday that the video is believed to have been recorded about two years ago.

Sagot told reporters that he didn’t know when the video was recorded when he decided to upload it.

Environmentalists say that such abuses of wildlife are commonplace in the Limon province but are rarely captured on video.
 

Note: Some may find the following video difficult to watch. The ending of the video depicting the dismemberment and killing of the animal, however, has been removed for the sake of decency.