Fisherman slammed by netizens after pulling and riding sea turtle caught from ocean

This is so cruel for the animal!

A Vietnamese fisherman has been slammed by netizens after he caught a sea turtle but didn't release it immediately. He pulled the animal near himself and rode on its back while the turtle appeared to struggle and ran away.

The marine conservation organization Nakawe Project uploaded a video on Instagram about a week ago, showing a Vietnamese-speaking fisherman sitting on a turtle and weighing the whole person on the animal on a fishing boat. He seems to force the turtle to move forward and screamed excitedly.

He pulls the turtle's hind foot and drags it backwards after riding the turtle's back, when the turtle continues to move his forefoot and struggled, which looks so anxious. The fisherman later picks it up with a turtle shell, but underestimates its weight since he almost throws the creature down on the deck. He then lifts the whole turtle.

The behaviour of the fisherman ignited much outrage of netizens, saying he was awful and heartbreaking. "I cried after watching this video. How angry and sad I was, and I don’t understand why anyone would do this," one said.

Many suggested finding out the fisherman with their hopes to lessen harm to other innocent animals.

Nakawe Project has reported the incident to the government, wishing they can find our the abusing person to be punished.