'I'm an animal lover' says regretful Queensland turtle surfer
This photo of Ricky Rogers "surfing" on the back of a turtle went viral earlier in the week but the 26-year-old has come forward to defend himself against the online backlash.
Rogers was on Fraser Island when he spotted the turtle on the sand and made the snap decision to jump on its shell.
It was a decision he now regrets.
"We pulled over to help it because we thought it was stuck and as we got closer realised it was dead," he told ARM.
"Not thinking we hopped on it for five seconds and got a quick photo and left."
Rogers has been slammed since the highly controversial image was posted to social media.
He has gone on to say his actions were a mistake and was “upset” that the public assumed he harmed an animal.
"I am an animal lover - I don't even let people kill spiders.
"Everyone that knows me knows how much I love animals and know I wouldn't do anything to hurt (one).
"This is what social media does to people - ruins names over false and misleading information."
The photo has been shared more than 4000 times in an attempt to draw attention to the "cruel" act.
"Surfed a tortoise on zee weekend.. gnarly duddddeeee [sic]," the caption to the photo read.
The two men could face fines of up to $20,000 if found to be interfering with a natural resource, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service said.
"QPWS are taking this matter seriously and investigating further," a spokesperson said.
After receiving widespread backlash online, Mr Rogers removed the photo and put both his Facebook and Instagram pages on private.
"Dead or not it's still wrong and inhuman (sic), like do we think it's acceptable to stand on the back of a dead human being? No. So it's not alright to stand on the back of a dead animal," one person wrote.
A second photo of the turtle showed the animal's head slumped to the ground, with the letters 'RIP' written in the sand next to it.
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