Disturbing footage has emerged of a person kicking an owl on a road in Queensland.

A video uploaded to social media showing a man appearing to kick an owl across a road has sparked fury online.

The footage was reportedly filmed in Queensland shows an owl sitting on the road in front of a stopped car.

A person behind the camera can be heard laughing as a man gets out and approaches the animal before appearing to kick it over the other side of the road.

The video was captioned with the phrase: “RSPCA approved”.

Footage of the incident was sent to the RSPCA after being uploaded to Snapchat.

The person who posted the clip later defended their actions in another Snapchat video, obtained by 7 News.

“It flew in front of the car and was slowly dying we weren’t just gonna leave it,” the caption read.

Another post read: “I know you laughed”.

The video has sparked furious reactions online, with social media users condemning the man in the video.

“So very sad. What is it that makes someone hurt a defenceless creature,” one person wrote.

“If it was slowly dying, I’m sure there was time to take it to a vet. If it could have been saved then they would have, if not then they could humanely euthanise it,” another pointed out.

One added: “Really are some sick people out there.”

A spokesperson for RSPCA Queensland told news.com.au they were investigating the footage.