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THE Gold Coast man at the centre of controversy after a photo of him and his friend 'surfing' a turtle on Fraser Island went viral, has spoken out.

The 26-year-old Ricky Rogers has told how he is actually an animal lover that wouldn't even kill a spider.

Mr Rogers had spoken out after the post condemning him for his behaviour was shared more than 14,000 times and commented on thousands of times, mostly from outraged people.

EARLIER: The men photographed posing while standing on a turtle on Fraser Island could face fines of up to $20,000 if found to be interfering with a natural resource, according to the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

The initial Facebook post showing the two men standing on top of the sea turtle has now been shared more than 9000 times and has more than 1000 comments, mostly from outraged people.

But it could a costly mistake for the young men.

A spokesperson from the QPWS said rangers were investigating the incident.

"There is some evidence to suggest that this turtle was deceased at the time of the photo," the spokesperson said.

"QPWS are taking this matter seriously and investigating further."

The Chronicle has reached out to the alleged poster, Ricky Rogers, for comment.

Ricky Rogers has made headlines for all the wrong reasons after he took a photo 'surfing' on a turtle on Fraser Island. Facebook

EARLIER: RSPCA Queensland spokesperson Michael Beatty has slammed the actions of the two men as "complete idiots".

Mr Beatty said the RSPCA would look into the incident if there was any information that the turtle was harmed, and said Biosecurity Queensland could also launch investigations under the Nature Conservation Act.

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"These guys are just complete idiots - there's no way they should be doing what they were doing," he said.

"Per usual, they've been idiots and posted it on Facebook...(and) hopefully people on Facebook will let them know what idiots they were."

While Mr Beatty said it is not illegal to approach turtles, the actions of the two men could have seriously harmed the animal.

"I hope they get their comeuppance on social media," he said.

The photo of the two men 'surfing' on the back of the turtle, which was posted to social media.

EARLIER: A GOLD Coast man has landed himself in hot water after posting a photo of himself and a friend 'surfing' a beached turtle on Fraser Island.

Ricky Rogers posted the photo to his Facebook account of himself posing with the animal - mistakenly referred to as a tortoise - while visiting the island yesterday.

"Surfed a tortoise on zee weekend.. gnarly duddddeeeee (sic)," the caption read.

The post was shared by another user - who wished to remain anonymous - with the incident also reported to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.

"When your brain is the size of a peanut, your thought process is ridiculous. Share this around and let's see if we can get this fool a nice hefty fine.#fraserisland," his post read.

So far, the photo of Mr Rogers standing on top of a turtle has been shared more than 2400 times and has garnered more than 700 comments of mostly outraged people.

"Are people really that stupid," Nathan Douglas wrote on the post.

"This is appalling. Omg. So upset," Jeanie Nash also wrote.

It is unknown whether the turtle was alive or dead at the time of the photo.

"A few people including myself have reported them to EHP (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection). Will see what happens," the user wrote in his original post.

The EHP confirmed with the Fraser Coast Chronicle that the Department was investigating a complaint made in relation to the incident.

The user said he wasn't expecting the post to gain as much traction as it has, but shared the post to let others know of what the men were doing.

"I thought to share it because I'm big into conservation. It's...when people do stupid things with animals, and half the time they just get a slap on the wrist," he said.