Beer brand Speight's has come under fire after shocking footage emerged of a man drinking beer from the head of a decapitated deer.
Footage of the video was posted to the Speight's Facebook page showing the man opening the deer's head and using it as a beer funnel to consume his drink.
The video was posted on Friday night, with Speight's responding to the footage saying: "good on ya mate".
However, the company has since removed the video following backlash on its social media page.
A number of people have taken to the Speight's Facebook page slamming the company, with one person saying, "Promoting animal abuse is sick. Wouldn't touch your beer now with a barge pole NOT KIWI".
"Hey Speight's, promoting animal abuse is nothing to be proud of, whether the animal is dead or alive. Poor form and we have decided to stop drinking your beer as there are plenty of alternatives," another wrote.
National President of the New Zealand Deerstalkers' Association Bill O'Leary told Newshub the hunter showed no respect to the dead animal, slamming the act as disgusting.
"To me it seems ludicrous, if I thought about it for any length of time I'd probably find it quite disgusting," he said.
"It's got no cultural context at all."
Speight's responded to the video saying 'good on ya mate'. Photo / Facebook
Animal rights group SAFE has also condemned the video and Speight's, believing the incident could damage its brand.
SAFE campaigns manager Marianne Macdonald told 1 News she's shocked the encouragement Speight's gave the man in the video.
"I'm very surprised that Speight's would want to support and encourage people who are showing such disrespect to an animal, after they've slaughtered the deer and cut his head off," she said.
Speight's has released a statement apologising for the incident, saying the initial response made to the video on social media was regrettable.
"The post by one of our Speight's consumers was extremely ill-judged, and our initial response was unwise and regrettable.
"We apologise unreservedly for the comment and for any offence it has caused."
Speight's says it believes hunters should treat animals ethically and with respect.
