diff --git a/datadog_lambda/span_pointers.py b/datadog_lambda/span_pointers.py
index d5c8bde7..86c9e60b 100644
--- a/datadog_lambda/span_pointers.py
+++ b/datadog_lambda/span_pointers.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from itertools import chain
 import logging
+import os
 from typing import List
 
 from ddtrace._trace._span_pointer import _SpanPointerDirection
@@ -10,16 +11,23 @@
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+dd_botocore_add_span_pointers = os.environ.get(
+    "DD_BOTOCORE_ADD_SPAN_POINTERS", "true"
+).lower() in ("true", "1")
+
+
 def calculate_span_pointers(
     event_source,
     event,
+    botocore_add_span_pointers=dd_botocore_add_span_pointers,
 ) -> List[_SpanPointerDescription]:
     try:
-        if event_source.equals(EventTypes.S3):
-            return _calculate_s3_span_pointers_for_event(event)
+        if botocore_add_span_pointers:
+            if event_source.equals(EventTypes.S3):
+                return _calculate_s3_span_pointers_for_event(event)
 
-        elif event_source.equals(EventTypes.DYNAMODB):
-            return _calculate_dynamodb_span_pointers_for_event(event)
+            elif event_source.equals(EventTypes.DYNAMODB):
+                return _calculate_dynamodb_span_pointers_for_event(event)
 
     except Exception as e:
         logger.warning(
diff --git a/tests/test_span_pointers.py b/tests/test_span_pointers.py
index 8073a704..f4cd1b26 100644
--- a/tests/test_span_pointers.py
+++ b/tests/test_span_pointers.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ class SpanPointersCase(NamedTuple):
         name: str
         event_source: _EventSource
         event: dict
+        dd_botocore_span_pointers: bool
         span_pointers: List[_SpanPointerDescription]
 
     @pytest.mark.parametrize(
@@ -23,12 +24,14 @@ class SpanPointersCase(NamedTuple):
                 name="some unsupported event",
                 event_source=_EventSource(EventTypes.UNKNOWN),
                 event={},
+                dd_botocore_span_pointers=True,
                 span_pointers=[],
             ),
             SpanPointersCase(
                 name="empty s3 event",
                 event_source=_EventSource(EventTypes.S3),
                 event={},
+                dd_botocore_span_pointers=True,
                 span_pointers=[],
             ),
             SpanPointersCase(
@@ -50,6 +53,7 @@ class SpanPointersCase(NamedTuple):
                         },
                     ],
                 },
+                dd_botocore_span_pointers=True,
                 span_pointers=[
                     _SpanPointerDescription(
                         pointer_kind="aws.s3.object",
@@ -59,6 +63,28 @@ class SpanPointersCase(NamedTuple):
                     ),
                 ],
             ),
+            SpanPointersCase(
+                name="sensible s3 event with dd_botocore_span_pointers disabled",
+                event_source=_EventSource(EventTypes.S3),
+                event={
+                    "Records": [
+                        {
+                            "eventName": "ObjectCreated:Put",
+                            "s3": {
+                                "bucket": {
+                                    "name": "mybucket",
+                                },
+                                "object": {
+                                    "key": "mykey",
+                                    "eTag": "123abc",
+                                },
+                            },
+                        },
+                    ],
+                },
+                dd_botocore_span_pointers=False,
+                span_pointers=[],
+            ),
             SpanPointersCase(
                 name="malformed s3 event",
                 event_source=_EventSource(EventTypes.S3),
@@ -78,12 +104,14 @@ class SpanPointersCase(NamedTuple):
                         },
                     ],
                 },
+                dd_botocore_span_pointers=True,
                 span_pointers=[],
             ),
             SpanPointersCase(
                 name="empty dynamodb event",
                 event_source=_EventSource(EventTypes.DYNAMODB),
                 event={},
+                dd_botocore_span_pointers=True,
                 span_pointers=[],
             ),
             SpanPointersCase(
@@ -109,6 +137,7 @@ class SpanPointersCase(NamedTuple):
                         },
                     ],
                 },
+                dd_botocore_span_pointers=True,
                 span_pointers=[
                     _SpanPointerDescription(
                         pointer_kind="aws.dynamodb.item",
@@ -139,16 +168,18 @@ class SpanPointersCase(NamedTuple):
                         },
                     ],
                 },
+                dd_botocore_span_pointers=True,
                 span_pointers=[],
             ),
         ],
         ids=lambda test_case: test_case.name,
     )
-    def test_calculate_span_pointers(self, test_case: SpanPointersCase):
+    def test_calculate_span_pointers(self, test_case: SpanPointersCase) -> None:
         assert (
             calculate_span_pointers(
                 test_case.event_source,
                 test_case.event,
+                botocore_add_span_pointers=test_case.dd_botocore_span_pointers,
             )
             == test_case.span_pointers
         )