Some viral videos on social media are causing a lot of outrage.
The videos purportedly show two young men, violently torturing a deer.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission watched the videos, which apparently originated in Brookville, Pa, and started investigating immediately.

Erie News Now has learned charges could come down as early as this week.

The vile videos show two young men taunting the deer and snickering, as they appear to torture the buck, which appeared to have just been shot, but was still alive.

The video shows them ripping its antlers off,  and kicking and stomping on its head, numerous times.

It was enough for the Pa Game Commission to launch a criminal investigation, which they say is still ongoing, “We thought that there were elements of unlawful activity there and we proceeded with an investigation from there,” said State Game Warden Chip Brunst, Information and Education Supervisor for the State's Northwest Region.

Brunst says hunters always want to kill a deer with one shot, if they do not, they will kill the deer humanly.

Brunst wants the public to know these actions are not reflective of your typical hunter, “That's not the normal average hunter, because it's not about the thrill of killing, it's about going out and harvesting the animal, it's the thrill of the hunt.”

Suzanne DeArment, Founder of Wildlife in Need Emergency Response in Crawford County, says she could not bring herself to watch the videos in their entirety, “I’m passionate about saving animals, I do not like animals suffering whatsoever, and to see somebody intentionally do this is horrific.”

Brunst says the two are facing several violations under the Gaming Wildlife Code, to include unlawful taking, disturbance of wildlife, and proper orange not being displayed. They could also face criminal charges of cruelty to animals, “I hope that somebody learns from this, this is something I would think would happen in the movies, not in reality, but it does happen in reality, and these people need to be dealt with,” said DeArment.

There is a petition online, calling for criminal charges against the two individuals, with more than 300,000 signatures as of Monday evening. However, Brunst tells Erie News Now that will not impact their investigation.

If you have any information which may help investigators on this case, you’re asked to call the Pennsylvania Game Commission Northwest Regional Headquarters at (814) 432-3187.