A group of New Hampshire high school football players was captured in a sick video beating a duck with a broomstick then strangling it to death, according to new reports.

Several student-athletes who attend Kennett High School in North Conway were suspended from upcoming football games after video emerged of the animal being killed at a training camp in late August, news station WMUR reported.

Footage showed the teammates luring ducks out of the water before one of the players hit the animal over the head. The animal was later strangled to death, the Conway Daily Sun reported.

“The heinous activity of a duck being hit over the head with a broomstick is what ended up happening,” Kennett Consolidated School District Superintendent Kevin Richard said, adding “it was maimed pretty badly.”

The duck-bashing video was shared online, prompting several concerned calls to school officials, the news station reported.

Students seen in the clip were suspended for up to three games based on their role in the alleged animal torture, according to the Daily Sun.

“There are very strong opinions both ways, and you try to come back with what you think is reasonable, and also recognizing that these are adolescents that make bad choices and this was a grievous mistake,” Richard told WMUR.

Originally appeared on The New York Post