A Dubbo teenager has been charged with animal cruelty offences after video of him allegedly attacking an emu went viral on the internet.
Police were quick on the case when the footage began circulating on social media, showing a man holding down the big bird by the neck, ripping feathers from its body and then he tries to mount it.
A woman, presumably the person filming the ordeal, can be heard on camera saying: "This is going to be funny as fuck".
People were absolutely outraged at the incident; not only because the emu is on our coat of arms but because what the man allegedly did to that bird was absolutely abhorrent.
New South Wales Police has released a statement saying: "On Monday, police were made aware of a social media video circulating, allegedly showing a man pulling feathers out of a distressed emu, while those filming laughed.
"Officers from the Rural Crime Prevention Team attached to Orana Mid-Western Police District conducted inquiries, and from information received, it's believed the incident took place on Marthaguy Road at Quambone, near Coonamble, on Sunday evening.
"Following intensive inquiries, a 19-year-old man was arrested at a Dubbo home yesterday.
"He was taken to Dubbo Police Station and charged with recklessly beat etc cause prolonged suffering to animal."
It comes only a month after a South Australian bloke was sentenced to nearly a month and a half behind bars for mowing down a mob of emus with his four-wheel-drive car.
Jacob MacDonald uploaded a video of him plowing through the animals near the Victorian-South Australia border and it didn't take too long for the clip to go viral on social media.
Police began an investigation and eventually charged him last year with several offences including aggravated cruelty to animals.
The 20-year-old ended up killing 10 emus during his rampage, which saw him get up to speeds of 120km/h, and has since been sentenced to 42 days in jail.
When interviewed by Channel 7 last year, the young man said he was prepared to be locked up for his crimes.
"If that's what I get, that's what I get," Mr MacDonald said. "It was a mistake it was a silly idea. It's not funny anymore, it was at the time. The biggest stuff up of my life. I'm not proud of it."
In a different interview with the Daily Mail, MacDonald said that emus do untold damage to the local agriculture and blamed a relationship breakdown for his dumb decisions at the time.
He said the drought has only exacerbated the situation and the reason the emus are on the road is because they're looking for food.
Featured Image Credit: 7 NewsTopics: News, Animals, Australia
