[Captured from X (formerly Twitter)]
[Captured from X (formerly Twitter)]

A woman in China drew public outrage after she was filmed climbing onto a live tortoise while holding a child.

According to China's state-run Huanqiu.com, the incident occurred Friday (local time) at a tortoise experience zone inside a tourist and leisure park in Foshan, Guangdong Province. Video footage showed the woman holding a young girl standing on the tortoise's back, laughing as she did so.

The tortoise appeared to struggle in pain as it strained to move under the weight, but the woman kept smiling and gestured to a nearby boy to climb on as well.

The person who filmed the video said other children had also stepped onto the tortoise, but that the mother's behavior was particularly egregious. "When the tortoise started writhing, she seemed to enjoy it even more and waved her son over to get on with her," the witness said.

A sign at the site read "Do not step on or sit on the tortoises," but no staff members intervened.

The tortoise was identified as an African spurred tortoise with a shell length of about 40 centimeters, a species listed as a Class II protected animal under international endangered species classifications.


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