208kg sea turtle slaughtered and sold piece by piece to eager Guangdong villagers for $4,000

An endangered leatherback turtle was caught from the sea and brutally slaughtered for sale in China's Guangdong province on Dec 6.

According to Shanghaiist, fishermen had dragged the 208kg animal onto the shore, where it met its bloody (literally) end soon after.

Locals then rushed to the scene and snapped up chunks of the aquatic giant for 140 yuan (around S$29) per kg in two hours. The seller apparently earned 20,000 yuan (around S$4,100).

Graphic photos and footage of the slaughter have horrified netizens after being posted online.

The Guangdong ocean and fisheries administration is investigating the incident.

The illegal hunting and killing of turtles is a criminal offense in China, though that does not seem to have deterred these fishermen.