I realize this post is months old, but as this thread pops up in various searches, I thought I would reply

:SPOILERS:

None of the animal killings are slow. Every one lasts just a few seconds. The turtle is not dismembered by natives, its the film makers who do it. He is killed with two chops to the neck. His head is removed and then his body is cut up. I dont know why this is so upsetting to people. Hes dead. There are twitches and leg movements after his head is cut off, but he is not alive any more.

The only one that I found hard to watch was the killing of the "musk rat" (really, a very small coati). He gets stabbed in the throat twice and is screaming a lot. But, again, the scene only lasts a few seconds.

Aside from those two animals, they also kill a small monkey (by cutting his head in half), a snake and a large spider. All deaths happen quickly and are on screen only a few seconds.

The animal killings shouldnt stop you from watching this film. Theyre minor and not particularly graphic. Plus, if youre a meat eater, well... dont be a hypocrite! From what I have read about the film, all the animals killed were eaten. Cept the spider, I imagine!

You SHOULD skip this movie, tho, as its just horrible. The storyline and acting are atrocious. Basically, everyone in the jungle (natives and film makers, alike) are soulless psychopaths who rape and murder everything with zero emotion or feelings. Somehow the director tries to use this as some lame commentary on western society? Its rubbish.

Are you a Vegetarian?

I don't condone killing but its factory farming isn't exactly cruelty free.
I don't like the real killing in the film but it doesn't stop me watching or enjoying it. The turtle I heard was eaten and maybe the musk rat.

The animal cruelty bugs me in that film just because I feel that a director does not need to kill a living being to make a film. It's horrible. Now, I've heard that people die on movie sets by accident, a lot in the film industry. That disturbs me but I think it's even more disturbing when a director condones the actual killing of a living being. The director of Cannibal Holocaust was trying to state a clear message about Vietnam and are we really as civilized as the other guy? He was stating a clear pacifist message, but it kind of defeats the purpose when you murder an animal for a flipping film.

New directors edit...
 

Shameless have released a Blu-ray which has 2 versions of the film. One is the directors new edit with all the animal cruelty removed. It is still uncut in terms of human deaths