How do you feel about Tesco (UK) selling live animals for food in their Supermarkets in China ?

Question

I was horrified to find out that Tesco, a UK based company, now sell live turtles and frogs in their supermarkets in China. Worst than this, they allow their customers to take live turtles away to kill in any way they wish.

I was confused as to why the UK based company did not take its UK standards and values to China, one would have thought that they would have wanted to educate in food hygiene standards and promote animal welfare.

Others feel the same here, in a very short time over 2,000 have signed a Petition voicing objection.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/518761759

I wonder how many of their customers are they willing to lose over their activity in China ?

Answer 1

I think the people who have answered this topic so far have really missed the point of the question. No-one is totally against Tesco selling turtles for food in China (despite not particularly liking the idea myself and neither does the writer of the original question from what he states). The issue is that the turtles suffer horrible deaths as they are killed inhumanely. Did you know that a turtle can withstand a very long period of time without oxygen? So even when it has been decapitated or its shell split in half it continues to survive, in some instances up to 1 hour, before it dies. This is unimaginable cruelty in my opinion and something I certainly don't wish to be associated with.

There is another issue I should like to bring to your attention too. Turtles are known carriers of salmonella and it is very possible that at some stage when hygeine practices slip, as they inevitably do, a human will pick up the salmonella virus and as we know this has the potential to have fatal consequences in those with particulary poor immunological responses.

In my opinion Tesco should put an immediate end to this barbaric practice of slaughtering turtles in the way they do.

Answer 2

That's quite British of you. They call us the ugly americans for not understanding the ways of other cultures and trying to impose our ways and language on them when we visit. To Tesco it's business. The most effective way to sell in China, is to sell in the way the Chinese are most willing to accept it. You have to get past your ideas of how it should be done. Bottom line is any animal or fish is killed to be eaten. The Chinese prefer it fresh and how else to guarantee the freshness by buying it live. How do you guarantee the freshness when you buy at the market? Examine the meat? Get off your silly high horse and experience the world. There is more to life and the world than just the so-called western civilization. The Chinese recorded history dates back 8,000 years. England can claim maybe the last 2,000 years and at the beginning they were unkept celts and Norsemen. Take a lesson from the Chinese.

If you want to protest to Tesco fine. If decide not to buy at Tesco do that. Take UK standards of what? Sanitation? You have some of the dirtiest rivers in the world. Potable water? Please!!! Diets? Hahahaha!!!

Wake up and smell the tea. It came originally from China or India.

Answer 3

Well what surprise, I was expecting to be reading about death threats and all manner of things, but I agree with people, killing of animals by the person going to eat them, hase been going on for millennia. Its only the fact that we cant stomach the thought of doing it ourselves and lets face it Tesco's does make it look all nice and pretty in a plastic container that it doesnt even look like its come from an animal. My sister goes to Marocco to help out in a village there, and one day in that week the head man kills a goat for a big meal and a thank you to those that have helped. it happens, its just we have been molly coddled for too long about what actually goes on to get the meat to our plates. I go to my local Halal butcher even though I am not a Muslim because their meat is much fresher. Never had a problem with bugs at all. We cannot keep forcing our way of life on everybody, its not working.

Answer 4

This is how these people live,they don't get New Zealand lamb chops all nicely packaged up.
This is a chinese supermarket not English,i don't see what the problem is.If you go to a fish retaurant here in the UK you can pick your own lobster that is happily swimming about out of a tank and have it cooked,what is the difference.

Answer 5

i dont eat frogs....i dont eat turtles. but i can tell you a number of countries that do if you ask me. i can also tell you countries that eat bugs, countries that eat maggots, countries that eat dogs and cats. people eat differant foods. fresh food tastes better and honestly you cant get much fresher than if you pick it up live and take it home and do it yourself. stores in the us sell live lobsters, which people go home and drop in boiling water, whats the differance between that and a frog? im not trying to sound rude or anything, but if these people arent getting the frogs and turtles from tesco, they will find them other places. thats what they eat. they arent forcing you to kill/eat it

Answer 6

Well I can understand how upset you are, but it is a totally different culture. That's what they do in places like China, the Philippines, Japan, and other Asia parts. It's not abnormal. You and I would think that it should be stopped, but it's a different way of life. I'm not for it either, but I am not for halted their beliefs either.


If a grocery store was opening up in your town, and they didn't sell chicken, you would be outraged.

Answer 7

So where do you think meat comes from? I think its awesome that the Chinese haven't lost their ability to survive and I don't believe a UK firm should attempt to change their culture to suit our screwed up view of the world. If only all of us lived in the real world and not some fantasyland.

Answer 8

I say good for them. I hope it catches on here in the U.S. then I could go to the store and buy a live cow, kill it and cook it any way I felt like.

Answer 9

WHAT? You have got to be kidding me.
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Your willing to RISK jobs of PEOPLE IN THE UK, because SOMEONE IN CHINA is buying "live" food!!
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People in China are probably "horrified" that you buy DEAD animals as food!

Answer 10

aren't we glad you didn't live in the before the fda, or hunt deer, dove, fish.....

this gives new meaning to fresh meat