The footage shows the quokka with the e-cigarette held in its mouth by an unidentified teenage girl. Photo / 9 News
The footage shows the quokka with the e-cigarette held in its mouth by an unidentified teenage girl. Photo / 9 News
WARNING: Disturbing content
Upsetting video appears to show a teenage girl forcing a quokka to vape from an e-cigarette on Rottnest Island.
The video, which was shared on social media, shows the marsupial with its mouth around the vape pen, mistakenly thinking it was being fed food.
Animal rights groupshave slammed the unidentified teen's actions, which were filmed off the coast of Western Australia, on Rottnest Island which is the only place in the world you can see quokkas in the wild.
"It's completely and utterly irresponsible and unacceptable for this poor defenceless, vulnerable animal to be subjected to that kind of cruelty," Hannah Dreaver, from RSPCA WA, told 9 News.
The footage shows the quokka with the e-cigarette held in its mouth by an unidentified teenage girl. Photo / 9 News
The RSPCA is investigating the incident and has called for the person responsible to come forward. Acts of animal cruelty can attract fines of up to $50,000 in some cases.
Dreaver said the quokkas on Rottnest Island had become increasingly used to visitors, which left them "really vulnerable" to the actions of humans.
"They've become used to human interaction – they aren't running away from us; they aren't avoiding interaction. They are actually seeking it out," she said.
The RSPCA has slammed the unidentified girl's actions. Photo / 9 News
Taking selfies with quokkas on Rottnest Island has become a travel bucket list item but in recent years concerns have been raised about the wellbeing of the Australian native animals.
A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty to cruelty after footage emerged showing him kicking a quokka on Rottnest Island in 2017.
The same year, a New Zealand national was charged after he threw a quokka off a jetty on the island.
Other disturbing incidents include visitors giving alcohol to quokkas and setting one on fire.
Despite current travel restrictions, Rottnest Island is still in high demand, even without the usual influx of international tourists. Accommodation on the island has already sold out for January 2022.
