Man arrested over sickening emu car killing video

A 20-year-old man in Victoria’s north-west has been arrested after a sickening emu cruelty video sparked a nationwide manhunt.

A 20-year-old man in Victoria’s north-west has been arrested over the sickening video-streamed killing of several emus using a motor vehicle.

The man has been charged with several animal cruelty offences after a nationwide manhunt for the emu-killer.

People around the world have been shocked by a video shared by a social media account under the name “Fabio Gallenti” which shows a man driving while running down emu. Their screams are audible on the video.

F***ing emus,” he is heard yelling from behind the camera.“ One, two, three ...This is f***ing great. I’ve got that one too … and that one.”

The arrest by Victoria Police comes as several men claim they had been wrongly identified as the emu-killer, with some telling the media they have received death threats.

“A 20-year-old Cowangie man has been interviewed and is expected to be charged on summons,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said today.

“(He has been charged) with aggravated cruelty to an animal, cruelty to an animal, torment to an animal, destruction of protected wildlife and a number of traffic related offences including using a mobile phone while driving and speeding.”

A 20-year-old Victorian man has been charged.

Among those claim to be wrongly identified so far is a Victorian feral animal hunter who told the Herald Sun today he has been in Canada for the past 8 months.

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” he told the Herald Sun this morning. “I’ve copped hundreds of death threats to myself and my family. I’m done with it.”

“I’m sure as hell not gonna deal with this. I’m gonna go to a solicitor. People are sharing my number plate online and it’s not right.”

Another Melbourne man told news.com.au he was wrongly identified as the emu-killer after he was tagged by a friend on social media.

“It’s not me,” he told news.com.au. “My work mate tagged me because I have a photo with an emu on my profile but it’s not me in that video.”

“I’ve copped heaps of abuse and messages from people saying: ‘You’re dead’.”

The RSPCA has called for concerned citizens to contact police over the emu-killing rather than “name and shame” suspects online.

“The community is understandably outraged and angry about this vision – as are we. But we urge people to please contact the RSPCA or police if you have any information about this case,”RSPCA SA acting chief inspector Cheryl Doudle told news.com.au.

“We ask that people do not ‘name and shame’ alleged suspects on social media. This both compromises potential prosecutions, as well as risks incorrectly identifying innocent people.”

The 20-year-old will face the Ouyen Court on November 9.