E lder brother steps on the turtle and saws the head off for 20 seconds

Clip shows the teenager using pliers to pull the turtle's head out from shell

Catrina Shears, of West Michigan, posted the 43 second video on Facebook

A 17-year-old girl has provoked a storm of controversy after she posted a video on Facebook showing her older brother slowing saw the head off a live turtle.

Catrina Shears, from West Michigan, posted the 43 second video of the snapping turtle's death to the social media website this week.

The clip, filmed on a mobile phone, shows the teenager using pliers to pull the turtle's head out from its shell while her elder brother steps on the turtle.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

A 17-year-old girl has provoked a storm of controversy as she posted a video on Facebook showing her older brother slowing saw the head off a live turtle

As the turtles squirms he then pulls out a hacksaw and slowly saws through the animal's neck for about 20 seconds.

Although the turtle moves it's legs it stops moving after as the hacksaw goes deeper.

According to her Catrina's comments the pair were in rush and could not find an axe.

Catrina seems unaffected, and said they have done this for years, and described how they let the animal's blood drain for several hours.

Catrina Shears, from West Michigan, posted the 43 second video of the snapping turtle's death to the social media website this week. The clip, filmed on a mobile phone, shows the teenager using pliers to pull the turtle's head out from its shell while her elder brother steps on the turtle

Then she commented that she 'should have taken a video of the blood squirting' from the turtle's neck.

The posting on the video drew heavy criticism on Facebook with many saying if the siblings want to hunt and kill animals for meat the method of death should have been quicker.

Other people said that 'decapitation is the humane way to kill a snapping turtle.'

After several complaints the Department of Natural Resources released a statement reported Fox8.com, saying: 'We are certainly disappointed anyone would post something like that to social media.

Although the actions depicted in this video are technically legal under state statute - provided that the capture of the turtle was legal - we would advocate a more rapid means of taking the animal's life. We further hope this turtle was taken for the purpose of human consumption.'