The sickening moment a man bites a POSSUM on the bottom for a dare - as RSPCA warns of 'disturbing' spate of cruelty against the marsupials
- 3 videos and one photograph have emerged showing cruelty against possums
- One of the videos shows a man appearing to bite chunks from a possum's behind
- Another shows a man crushing a possum against a wall and throwing it to dogs
- RSPCA condemned the acts, saying they showed a disturbing lack of empathy
A video posted to Instagram of a man biting a possum's bottom has been released by the RSPCA.
It is one of several sick social media posts involving cruelty against the native Australian marsupial in Queensland the past month.
In another, a man is filmed swinging a possum around in net before he tosses the defenceless animal to pack of hungry dogs.
In a bid to raise awareness about the spate of distressing attacks the RSPCA have released three videos and one photograph.
The most disturbing clip shows a young man being encouraged by a group of friends to bite into the rump of a squirming possum.
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'Disturbing' video of a man 'chewing' a possum's backside have been released by the RSPCA
In another video a man climbs into a tree to remove a possum before gripping its neck and showing it to the camera as it screams in pain.
He then appears to hold it down against a brick wall, before hurling it into a nearby bush.
A separate photograph posted to Instagram shows two young women proudly posing with rifles and a dead possum.
The caption reads: 'I need a night out hunting again.'
A man dangling a netted possum over a pack of raging dogs was described as 'torturous'
The RSPCA has condemned the attacks, saying they are disturbing shows of animal cruelty.
'These are quite deliberate and premeditated acts of animal cruelty and show a complete lack of empathy,' RSPCA Queensland spokesperson Michael Beatty says.
'Without meaning to sound too melodramatic the links between this type of cruelty and acts of violence toward humans have been well researched over the years.'
While the RSPCA said it was impossible to track whether instances of animal cruelty were truly on the rise, they noted more people were willing to report it.
The organisation has urged anyone with information about the attacks to contact the police.
'All native animals are protected under the Nature Conservation Act and if they did shoot the possum then that is illegal and they can be prosecuted.'
Two girls posing 'proudly' with a rifle and possum sparked an investigation into animal cruelty
