Watch: Taranaki man punches possum in sickening animal cruelty video

Sickening footage of a man in Taranaki punching a possum has surfaced online. Photo / Facebook

Sickening footage of a man in Taranaki punching a possum has surfaced online.

A video was posted on the Facebook community 'You Know You Lived in Waitara When...' on Monday night with the caption "Meanwhile in Taranaki we have been researching and found a new pest control method alot safer than trapping and 1080 the results are amazing."

In the video featuring the possum, a man is seen walking up towards the animal sitting on a fence post in the dark and punching it in the head.

People are then heard laughing and encouraging the man to hit the possum again as it runs away.

"Get it, punch it, punch it in the head ... Grab him, punch him ... Stomp on his head," someone says.

Many people commented on the post, saying the were shocked by the animal abuse.

"OMG you evil bunch of waste of space Is this what you would do to children & that female there enjoying what is going on & egging them on. I am shocked by this," one person said.

Another wrote: "Makes me wonder if they treat animals like this, regardless of the excuse of 'pest control', how they treat humans. Disgusting!!".

A Department of Conservation (DOC) spokeswoman said only the use of approved traps and toxins was condoned by the department, because it was the most humane way to kill pests.

This is the second incident of animal cruelty in Taranaki being shed in the light after a video of a man trying to get his cat high on cannabis was shared on social media a few days ago.

The video, shared on Facebook, shows a woman holding a kitten up to a man who lights a bong, inhales deeply and blows smoke through cupped hands at the tiny animal's head.

In preparation, the man said: "This cat, I only found today, so it's new, roughly about five, six weeks old. This is going to be its second time getting stoned."

"Cruel but not wrong," he concluded. "All my other cats are used to it."

Police and the SPCA are investigating the incident involving the cat.