WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: A 43-year-old man from Melbourne has been arrested after shocking video emerged of him allegedly stabbing a kangaroo to death.

Officers from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) arrested the man on Wednesday evening and charged him with one count of destroying protected wildlife.

On Tuesday night video emerged on social media of a man slashing at the throat of the kangaroo at least 18 times.

The animal appears to have an injured leg and tries to escape into bushland but the man, who wields a large hunting knife, holds the animal down and begins to slice ts throat until it stops crying in pain and goes limp.

View photos The man approaches the injured kangaroo with a knife in his hand. More

The footage quickly went viral and authorities vowed to track down the perpetrator of the cruel killing.

Evidence including firearms, knives and mobile phones have been taken from the arrested man's Ringwood East home.

He was granted bail and will appear at Ringwood Magistrates Court at a date to be confirmed.

View photos He subdues the animal by grabbing its tail, then proceeds to stab and slip its throat. More

View photos The animal is stabbed several times in the neck before its throat is cut. More

"We take all alleged cases of animal cruelty very seriously," DELWP manager of compliance operations Glenn Sharp said.

"The wildlife offences captured in this video are particularly abhorrent."

Several members of the public came forward with information about the alleged offences after the video was released.

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