Men photographed “turtle surfing” could face fines

A HOLIDAY to Fraser Island could get a whole lot more expensive for two men, after a photo of this stunt was posted online.

The photo has been shared almost 13,500 times online.

TWO men could face fines of up to $20,000 each after they were photographed standing on a turtle on Queensland’s Fraser Island.

The photo was originally posted on Instagram with the caption: “Surfed a tortoise on zee weekend.. gnarly duddddeeeee”. It shows two men standing on the back of a large turtle while holding beers, with a four-wheel drive parked in the background.

A spokesperson from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service said the incident is being investigated, admitting there was some evidence the turtle was already dead.

RSPCA Queensland spokesperson Michael Beatty has slammed their actions.

“These guys are just complete idiots — there’s no way they should be doing what they were doing,” he told the Sunshine Coast Daily.

“Per usual, they’ve been idiots and posted it on Facebook ...(and) hopefully people on Facebook will let them know what idiots they were.”

The photo caused a storm on Facebook after it was shared by wildlife photographer Matt Wright. He commented: “When your brain is the size of a peanut, your thought process is ridiculous. Share this around and let’s see if we can get this fool a nice hefty fine.”

Mr Wright’s post has been shared almost 13,500 times.

The men in the photo have not been officially identified.

“Would love to park that 4WD on them and surf them see how they like it,” wrote Nathan Collie. “Hopefully someone knows them and gives there (sic) names up.”

“You uneducated idiots. It’s a sea turtle and someone should be standing on your back and see how you like it. Brainless idiots,” wrote Karen Still.

“Disgusting behaviour,” wrote Adam Baird.

“Dead or alive, still no respect and definitely not funny or impressive!” wrote Lynda Duthie.

It’s not the first time photos with wild animals have caused uproar online.

In Februrary this year, a tourist was accused of “killing” a baby dolphin after he paraded it along a beach in Argentina so holidaymakers could take photos.

The dolphin quickly overheated and died and was discarded on the sand, sparking outrage from animal rights groups.

In June last year, conservation groups were furious after video surfaced of men “surfing” a rare whale shark. London-based marine wildlife group Marine Connection brought the “unbelievable” footage to attention, posting the clip online with the caption “wildlife harassment is never a laughing matter”.

“What a sad reflection on their attitude to wildlife when, instead of considering themselves fortunate to see this majestic creature in the wild, they choose to participate in a stupid stunt like this,” the group said to the “surfers”.