Imagine it’s the third quarter of Florida vs. Georgia in Jacksonville.

Georgia’s beloved bulldog, Uga IX, shakes loose from his handler, saunters onto the field, stumbles a bit and plops down on the grass. No one can tell if Uga is OK or out of it.

The Florida quarterback walks over to check out the scene, and inexplicably decides to give the dog the boot, flinging him about five yards.

That’s essentially what happened in a Colombian soccer match just a few days ago, except the mascot was an owl -- and it’s now dead.

Awful.

You genuinely have to wonder about the thought process that leads to the decision to boot not only an owl, but a unique-looking owl with obvious importance.

On what planet is that a good idea?

The player in question, Barranquila’s Luis Moreno, defended himself, saying he “did it to see if the owl could fly.”

Can you imagine?

There is zero justification for what Moreno did. If we’ve learned anything as a civilized society, it’s that if you mess with animals, a tidal wave of ticked-off is coming for you. Colombian soccer officials may sanction Moreno, and that nation’s animal protection laws allow the player to be jailed for up to three months." It’s doubtful that anyone will consider that too harsh.

Next time, Luis, just chill in the 18-yard box and occupy your time with something game-related. Ignore the owl so we can go on ignoring you.

The video below shows the owl receiving treatment, but it wasn't enough.