A video of a distressed emu being plucked of its feathers by a teenager has recently gone viral on social media last week.
The New South Wales Police were told of the said video on Monday, which led to the arrest of a 19-year old man from his Dubbo home in Central West NSW on Wednesday.
In the video, the teenager was seen dragging the native Australian animal from underneath a barbed wire fence. He then pretended to ride it before ripping out large chunks of its feathers, causing pain to the animal.
Other people can be heard laughing in the footage. Investigators believed the poor animal had a broken leg and was tortured by the group of men.
After a thorough investigation, the officers believed the incident took place on Marthaguy Road at Qumabone near Coonable on Sunday evening.
The teen was taken to Dubbo Police Station and charged with “recklessly beating and causing prolonged suffering to animal.” He was granted conditional bail to appear at Dubbo Local Court on July 22.
Police investigations are still ongoing as they try to determine the other men involved in the video.
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