Two Guys Pretending To Surf On Turtle’s Back Face $20,000 Fine

Credit: HuffPost

Whether or not the turtle was dead at the time the boys 'surfed' on its back doesn't matter; this kind of cruelty against animals is unacceptable.

It’s not nice to harm wildlife – nor is it financially intelligent. Two guys, one named Ricky Rogers and his unnamed friend, found this out the hard way after they posted a photo of themselves ‘surfing’ on a turtle’s back on Facebook.

Captioned “Surfed a tortoise on zee weekend.. gnarly duddddeeeee,” the image shows two guys standing on the shell of a tortoise. Huff Post reports that it didn’t take long for wildlife authorities to be informed of this travesty, after the photo wildlife photographer Matt Wright shared to Facebook went viral.

Michael Beatty, spokesman for Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Queensland, told the Fraser Coast Chronicle:

That’s likely the understatement of the century, but like so many ignorant individuals, they harmed wildlife for the sake of a photo. At present, authorities are investigating whether or not the turtle was already dead at the time the picture was taken. This is because shortly after the infamous photo was taken, the boys shared another picture of a dead tortoise with ‘RIP’ written next to it.

As Michael Beatty points out, it really doesn’t matter if the turtle was dead or not. This kind of cruelty against animals is not acceptable, and now the ‘complete idiots’ will be facing a fine of up to $20,000.