CANBERRA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- An off-duty South Australian police officer has been filmed badly injuring or killing a wombat by throwing rocks at it.
The video shows a shirtless man - identified as Waylon Johncock - chasing a wombat along a road and throwing rocks at it, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.
A man in a car then declares that Johncock has killed the wombat. "You killed him, bro," he said. "First bloke to ever see killing a wombat on foot with a rock, mate."
The South Australia Police Commissioner Grant Stevens confirmed that the video was the subject of an investigation.
"I find the actions portrayed in the footage to be totally abhorrent and unacceptable," he said in a statement.
"I am aware of the community outrage regarding this matter. I want to reassure everybody that the actions in the video do not align with the values and behaviours I expect from my employees, nor does it align with community standards," he said.
"Numerous employees of South Australia Police have also expressed to me that they, too, find the footage detestable and not consistent with their values," he added.
However, an aboriginal elder has defended the "cultural practice" as Johncock is an indigenous officer.
Jack Johncock said throwing rocks at wombats was "one of many methods" local Aboriginal people used to kill them for food.
"It's easy for people to sit back and judge people," he said.
"This has been part of our culture and the way we've gone about it for thousands of years," he added.
