A US Marine has become the target of a massive internet hate campaign after a mobile phone video appearing to show him throwing a puppy off a cliff in Iraq became a viral hit.

Some 150,000 people watched the video in less than two days before it was taken down from the YouTube website this morning. More than 4,000 posted comments, overwhelmingly negative, although many questioned whether the dog was already dead.

The low-quality video shows two Marines in combat joking as one holds up what appears to be a motionless black and white puppy, which he then hurls into a rocky gully. A loud yelping sound is heard as it flies through the air.

Major Chris Perrine of the Marine Corps Base Hawaii says it appears the man is based with a unit in the islands. In a statement the Marines called the video "shocking and deplorable" and said it violates "the high standard we expect of every Marine".

“We do not tolerate this type of behaviour and will take appropriate action,” the statement added.

The video is both blurred and shaky and it's virtually impossible to tell whether the puppy is alive or dead as it is held by the scruff of the neck by a Marine who shows it to the camera.

“Cute little puppy, huh?” the man says, smiling.

“Aww so cute, so cute, little puppy,” one of his comrade says.

“Uh, uh, uh, I tripped,” the man says before turning and throwing something into the air.

From offscreen, a man says “That’s mean. That’s mean, Motari.”

A number of US websites named the perpetrator as David Motari, a 22-year-old from Washington state who has recently returned from Iraq and is based in Hawaii. Mr Motari's profile on the social networking site Bebo was closed down yesterday.

Some sites posted his personal details, phone numbers and even a picture of his car, while other bloggers called for him to be ostracised. Others said that the video was simply bringing home the horrors of the Iraq war.

"If David Motari is the puppy killer, he is undoubtedly a sociopath who does not feel remorse or shame," wrote Mike on the Crime and Federalism weblog.

"After confirming him as the puppy killer, we must engage in an online campaign to ensure that everyone who does business with or associates with him is warned. The puppy had no choice; humans, through education, will."

Mr Motari's local newspaper, the Herald, reported that it had shown the video to veterinarians at Washington State University, but they could not confirm whether it was genuine or not.

"If this is something legitimate, it's one of the most egregious acts of animal cruelty I have ever seen, if not the most," said Dr Matt Mickas, chief of Community Practice Services at the university's veterinary college.

But Dr Mickas said that the video did not appear fake to him because of the way the animal went slack by being held from the neck.

"To me, the sound on the YouTube clip sounded like a puppy in distress - the same sound we hear when the puppies come into the hospital," he said.

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