Man who punched kangaroo faces online backlash

A video of a man rushing out of his car and punching a kangaroo to save his dog went viral on social media last week.

The man, Greig Tonkin, is a caretaker in a zoo in a small city in Australia. After the video surfaced across social media, many took to platforms calling on action to be taken against the 34-year-old.

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has condemned the actions of the zookeeper and demanded he be fired from his job due to the action.

“Punching a kangaroo in the face is neither brave nor funny, it’s illegal, as is harassing native wildlife with dogs,’’ PETA’s campaign coordinator Claire Fryer said.

“Not only has he assaulted a kangaroo and potentially injured his jaw, nose or eyes, but he has put the dog at risk of serious injury by using him for hunting.

“It’s extremely concerning to hear that those involved considered this incident to be the highlight of the trip.

“The man in this video should be prosecuted instead of being made out to be a national hero.”

The video portrays a man in a checkered shirt rushing out of his car and running towards a kangaroo that can be seen holding a dog in his arm as he strangles it.

The man then stands in front the kangaroo who let’s go of the dog, and proceeds to punch him in the face. The kangaroo freezes and then hops off into the distance as the man returns to the car.

*This article can be viewed in Arabic on AlArabiya.net