Two French tourists filmed themselves intentionally burning a quokka while on an Australian vacation.
Quokka are an endangered species and this incident caused a public outrage.
Thibaud Jean Leon Vallet, 24, and Jean Mickael Batrikian, 18 took a video of them igniting an aerosol spray to the animals head and body followed by laughter coming from the men.
The quokka luckily survived the attack.
The men were each fined $4,000 but according to The Australian Broadcasting Corporation they were unable to pay the amount and instead spent a night in jail.
They also were excused from their jobs for the stunt pulled during their three month vacation in Rottnest Island a common home for the quokka.
Three quokkas—two adults and a juvenile, presumably a family unit—interact at Bathurst, Rottnest Island, Western Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“One can only imagine the impact caused to the quokka,” Said judge Elizabeth Langdon during their hearing.
She deemed their behavior “abhorrent” and “perplexing” and pleaded guilty to their offense.
Vallet told Fairfax media, “You think we’re monsters. We didn’t hurt the quokka. We have pets at home.”
“quokka selfies” have become a huge trend with many tourists and caused this little furry guy to take much fame on social media sites. But with the popularity came danger to the animals.
In the 1990’s it used to be a huge Australian trend to play “quokka soccer” where they kick the animal around like a ball.
Now a $10,000 fine is imposed on anyone who hurts these creatures.
With only 8,000 to 17,000 quokkas left in the world as recorded by The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List these animals must be preserved and kept safe to prevent extinction.
As far as the status of the men, they have had their passports taken away preventing them from moving on to their next destination in Thailand and will be leaving Australia soon.
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