2 Men Brutally Behead Duck At A Car Park: Police

Authorities in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have launched an investigation after two men allegedly decapitated a duck over the weekend, police said Wednesday.

A preliminary investigation conducted by NSW Police determined that the two unidentified men chased a flock of wild ducks at a registered club's car park located along Old Hume Highway in Mittagong Saturday, the agency said in a statement.

The men were able to catch one of the ducks, and one of them proceeded to behead the animal, authorities said. They then left the scene before officers with The Hume Police District received reports of animal cruelty at the car park and were notified of the incident.

Authorities did not disclose any possible motive behind the killing.

NSW Police have since released images of the men taken from surveillance cameras and asked for the public's assistance in identifying the two accused.

Authorities described one of the men as "being of Caucasian appearance, of medium build and [was] seen wearing a fluorescent yellow and blue singlet, blue football shorts, a blue cap, thongs and sunglasses," according to the police statement.

The other man, meanwhile, was "of Caucasian appearance with a slim build and [was] seen wearing a gray T-shirt, blue shorts, thong and a blue cap."

"As inquiries continue, police are appealing for anyone with information or who has footage of the incident to contact Goulburn Detectives on (02) 4824 0736 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000," NSW Police said.

Additionally, anyone with any information regarding the incident can contact Crime Stoppers online.

A similar incident happened in NSW's coastal town of Batemans Bay in October 2021 when two 17-year-old boys were arrested for deliberately killing 14 kangaroos.

Authorities were called to the Long Beach area on the morning of Oct. 9 last year over reports that several kangaroos had been killed. Responding officers from the South Coast Police District ended up finding five dead adult kangaroos and one dead baby kangaroo, also known as a joey, in the area.

Police later found seven more dead kangaroos and one dead joey in the Maloneys Beach area. An injured joey was also discovered, which was taken into the care of the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service.

The kangaroo packs had been hit by a car, police said.

The two suspects were arrested two days later following an investigation. They were charged the next day with recklessly beating and killing an animal.

The teens later pleaded guilty to killing all 14 kangaroos found by authorities, telling the court that they deliberately drove their vehicles into the animals "without any real rationale other than a brain explosion."

The two boys each faced a potential maximum penalty of three years in prison, but Magistrate David Williams considered their lack of criminal history as well as their "remorse" and ordered them to participate in a youth justice conference as part of their sentence.

The case was scheduled to be adjourned Tuesday.