Two teen girls film themselves torturing a tortoise. Police are considering criminal charges.

[davidn3600]

Two teenage girls from Florida could face criminal charges after they allegedly filmed themselves torturing an endangered tortoise to death.

The duo is being investigated after they uploaded the sickening footage online.

It begins with them lighting the threatened gopher tortoise on fire — before throwing it on the ground and crushing it underfoot.

"Burn baby, burn baby. Now you're scared of us, huh?" says one of the animal abusers.

As they cackle with laughter, the critter then dies from its horrific injuries.

---

Officers are now working with the State Attorney's Office to determine what charges will be filed, and whether the pair will be considered as juveniles or adults.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/fla-teens-torture-kill-tortoise-face-charges-article-1.1871931

[JI7]

1. people who torture animals tend to end up harming other people also

[3auld6phart]

60. True that.

We can only hope that those two never breed. If they have children, you can rest assured the kids will be beaten and neglected.

[Tetris_Iguana]

2. Lock 'em up

And throw away the key as far as I'm concerned.

Such cruel behavior at a young age tends to be an incurable case of congenital psychopathy.

I'm going to hug my tortoise extra right tonight just thinking about this.

[House of Roberts]

3. I don't know what it is,

but that page refuses to release itself to my computer so I can view it. I had to close it.

Is this another 'Cult of Slender Man' sacrifice?

[cvoogt]

4. Florida

/nt

[lunasun]

6. Sick girls something wrong and if endangered there are laws

Hope charges are filed

[Kaleva]

7. I don't know why people do stuff like that.

[Aerows]

10. The only conclusion I can come to

is just pure meanness. Ugly, ugly behavior.

[BrotherIvan]

17. Self-Hatred

It always seems to be the reason for all bullying and lashing out.

[Wolf Frankula]

8. Touche Turtle Wants Them Dead

Look Out, He can do it

|

Wolf

[Aerows]

9. Cruelty. Disgusting

cruelty. Tortoises are long lived and gentle creatures.

Why are people so ugly to other living souls?

[rpannier]

11. Interesting point brought up by one of the commenters

The girls (or at least one) uploaded it on their facebook page.
That presumably means it was under her name
Should the authorities be allowed to release their names
If she stood on the street and yelled "My name is _____. I killed a turtle." Why keep her name anonymous.
This is pretty much what she did by posting it on her account

[Liberal_in_LA]

62. i'm surprised their names havent been publicized by someone yet

[markpkessinger]

12. I hope the police are doing a hell of a lot more than "considering" criminal charges! n/t

[rpannier]

63. Read this story in a few places

It's complicated by the crime
They are exploring whether this is better handled at the state or federal level since the turtle is a threatened species
If they decide it's also a federal issue, they might turn it over to the feds
Some cases are easier for the feds to win than the state

[DesertDiamond]

13. I'm crying for the poor turtle, and I'm crying because it's painful to know that people actually do

things that are that vicious and heartless.

All I can say is that things are getting darker, so that means the dawn is near. Coming soon: World Peace. I hold on to that thought when I read things like this.

[tblue]

15. Dear DesertDiamond

me too.

[Jenoch]

68. It was a tortoise.

[MoonchildCA]

14. This is nauseating.

Whether endangered or not, it's animal cruelty. Prosecute them to the fullest.

[SunSeeker]

16. Scary that these girls may be mothers one day. nt

[BrotherIvan]

18. Both will most certainly harm someone

If you pick on a defenseless turtle, what else will you try it out on?

[Duppers]

24. ^^^^^

Yes! Anyone totally lacking compassion should be sterilized.

Cruelty is often passed down and it needs to stop.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

46. Or President

I seem to remember a certain guy who blew up frogs.

[SunSeeker]

47. Ug. Who?

[truebluegreen]

49. Dimson Bush. Who else? nt

[SunSeeker]

51. Figures. He probably had that smirk when he was doing it. nt

[Sunlei]

19. upsetting, our society has young people like this. was the liquid, moonshine?

[dipsydoodle]

20. That is sick.

[LeftishBrit]

21. That is really sick

Even if it were a non-endangered species, it is sadistic behaviour.

Those who abuse animals will generally abuse people as well.

[BainsBane]

22. Apparently many serial killers get their start that way.

[Duppers]

25. definitely!

Thanks for stating truth.

[catbyte]

26. CONSIDERING charges?!?

OMFG. Throw both their sick asses in jail.

[mucifer]

27. For those who eat meat consider the hypocrisy of the factory farms

pigs spending their lives so confined they can't turn around in their own pens.

Even if you choose to ignore it, animals are tortured by the millions.

[TransitJohn]

33. LOL

That is all.

[L0oniX]

52. We're not allowed to film that anymore.

[Eleanors38]

64. As a deer-eater, I try to drop the animal on the spot.

Pleanty of video out there showing how it's done, field dressing, skinning, bitchering in the field, etc. I wish I could get a free-range pig.

[mucifer]

65. Personally, I'm much more ok with hunting and eating the meat than

grocery store and fast food factory farmed food.

[magical thyme]

28. Considering criminal charges? CONSIDERING?!?!!

They're teenagers. They're old enough to know right from wrong. They're old enough to have suffered the horrible pain of a burn or two. They're old enough to know they are torturing a defenseless animal.

Throw them in jail and throw away the fucking key.

Poor, poor tortoise....

[roguevalley]

29. they would need a new granny if they were mine. hideous trolls. in my family, everyone ptotects

Animals. I don't get it.

[trumad]

30. It looks like they had no idea that this was illegal...

let alone the cruelest thing you can possibly do.

Uploading it to the net so everyone can see....yep... they thought it was just fine.

[surrealAmerican]

32. It's one of the more disturbing aspects to stories like this:

What kind of world does a kid grow up where this is something to brag about?

[trumad]

34. yep.......

that's what hit me with this incident. No thought process to what others would think of this.

Hey---if we upload this to let everyone see it... would they get upset? Could we get in trouble?

Unreal.

[get the red out]

37. I actually don't care about them

Once they reach this level I want them to be seriously punished. I have zero sympathy for things like these girls.

[MH1]

61. Yes ... this one incident is awful enough, but it's the bigger picture that is even more horrific.

Kids are being raised everyday in ways that teach them that something like this is something to brag about.

Ugh, ugh, ugh.

And still some people want to force others against their will to become parents. Sheesh, we ought to learn how to raise the kids that are already being born before we force more of them into the world.

[Agony]

31. I will take "officers" and "State Attorney's" concerns about animal cruelty seriously when

they start holding police officers who blow away family pets during raids accountable for wanton acts of cruelty.

Otherwise there is a mountain of hypocrisy when it comes to justice for animal abuse...

Civilization should be judged by its treatment of animals.

Clearly these girls need help.

[RKP5637]

35. These two have some extremely serious mental issues going on, only a matter

of time IMO until they repeat this behavior or similar on other animals and/or humans. ... setting fire to the homeless, for example, comes to mind as other sickos have done.

Also, IMO, they should be considered as adults. Maybe in generations past there was a distinction, too often crimes by youth are so hideous IMO they should be treated as adults. I know about brain development, etc., but WTF, eventually the acknowledgment has to be accepted that some crimes are so hideous there is no distinction between juveniles or adults IMO.

[AngryOldDem]

43. I think torture of animals is considered to be a precursor of even worse things.

And I agree -- they knew they were torturing this turtle and what the outcome was going to be, and couldn't care less.

Adult court for both. If there are other issues going on, then by all means, get them help. But those issues can't mitigate legally what they did.

[get the red out]

36. Sick pieces of shit!

They deserve jail time and charges that destroy their lives. There is no animal on Earth whose life isn't more valuable than creatures that do this. They are irredeemably evil.

[JustAnotherGen]

38. That's sick

We have R. Jack living with us. He's a painted back turtle we rescued. Wonder if those girls realized that turtles handle by humans actually "know" their humans and "hide" when a human they don't know gets curious about them.

Mean. Mean. Mean.

[conservaphobe]

39. Sociopaths.

One of the most vivid memories I have of childhood is a neighborhood boy picking up a baby frog and throwing it as hard as he could against a brick wall.

[City Lights]

40. Sickos.

I hope they are charged.

[H2O Man]

41. That's terrible.

It makes me sick to read such things.

[AngryOldDem]

42. For whatever reason USA Today had the video the other day.

I watched maybe 10 seconds of it and I had to end it. The story has been truly bothering me ever since.

Yes, charges should be filed. Yes, the girls should be treated as adults. The fact that they knew what they were doing and were laughing about it takes it out of the category of "juvenile prank." They knew they were killing this creature.

The message needs to be sent that torture of any kind is WRONG. Especially against the defenseless.

[H2O Man]

45. Well said.

When young folks torture animals, it is a clear indicator of pathology.

[Brickbat]

44. One of the perps says charges and at least a fine are coming.

[Bragi]

48. Got a complex social problem?

There's a jail for that!

[Comrade Grumpy]

53. Thank you. Once the two-minute hate is over, then what?

[Bragi]

54. Therapy for the young perps

That's the route to take. Much better chance than jail for a good outcome.

[immoderate]

57. Agreed.

They should be sentenced to mandatory counseling. Jail will not make them better people.

--imm

[Saboburns]

66. Thanks for this

I'd like to help these two girls be better, more compassionate human beings. How is "locking them up and throwing away the fucking key" going to accomplish it??

I'm upset, sad, and troubled by their actions. I'm a gentle souled animal lover. It'd be true to say I love my dogs more than people.

But sometimes the fierce hate here REALLY shocks me.

I'm just not good at hating.

Well except for Dick Cheney. Him I HATE.

[L0oniX]

50. A future of murdering is typical with all animal torturers and is documented.

[jen63]

58. Yes

the conscience is developed by the age of three. Cruelty to animals and arson are precursors to serial killing of people by sociopaths. All the therapy in the world will not build a conscience where there is an absence of one.

[meti57b]

55. Cruelty in the extreme. There are no words for something as horrible as what they did.

[Baitball Blogger]

56. Horrible. The punishment should be strong to set a solid precedent.

[Earth_First]

59. Drop the pair off in the middle of the Everglades with nothing but the clothing on their backs...

miles from anywhere.

If they make it back...good for them.

If not, well...

Either way they learn just how cruel nature can be.

[Saboburns]

67. Wow

Cause to me, your plan here is much worse than what these girls did (which is a terribly cruel act). Do you really want to torture and maybe kill two girls??

Because from what I read here, your wanting to torture and maybe kill these girls makes you a serial killer to be. With no chance to be anything other than a twisted serial killing rapist.

Know what I mean??